All's Well that Ends Well
by iwrite4fun
Summary: Samantha Carter and SG-1 have a run in with NCIS that results in not just one, but two dead bodies, one year apart. How will Jack O'Neill react to having to bail his wife out of NCIS custody, not once but twice? And why do dead bodies follow Sam around?
1. Chapter 1

Title: All's Well that Ends Well

Author: iwrite4fun

Pairings: Sam/Jack  
>Rating: PG-13 (conservatively)<br>Warnings: This is a crossover story with NCIS and Stargate Atlantis.  
>Summary: Samantha Carter and other SG-1 members have a run in with NCIS that results in not just one, but two dead bodies, one year apart. How will Jack O'Neill react to having to bail his wife out of NCIS custody, not once but twice? And why do dead bodies keep following Sam around?<p>

AN: I don't profess to know anything about military or police procedure beyond what I've seen on TV, so please forgive any mistakes I might have made.

ooooo

Samantha Carter was on leave.

After spending a year as the Commanding Officer of the Atlantis expedition, she was finally home, on Earth. More specifically, she was in Washington D.C. visiting her husband, who was finishing up his last week of official service to the United States Air Force before he began his terminal leave.

And the only thing she wanted to do was go for a run.

On Atlantis, the only place to run was the corridors or the treadmill. Sam liked to run outside, where she could feel the wind her face. The only time she had run outside while in the Pegasus galaxy was when they had been running back to the gate- away from whatever trouble they had gotten themselves into. And since she was only permitted off-world on rare occasions, even those running opportunities had been few and far between.

She had a feeling Jack was grateful that she hadn't had a reason to do so much running lately.

So it seemed only fitting that on her list of to-do things, besides spending time with her husband and catching up on some much needed sleep, that running outside every morning was at the very top.

Jack had left long before the sun had risen, brushing a kiss to her cheek, and whispering "I'll see you later," in her ear.

Sam had drifted back to sleep, not quite ready to get up yet. Still, years of military training couldn't break her habit of not sleeping in. Not too long after the sun broke over the horizon, Sam pulled on her running shoes and suitable clothing and hit the pavement.

She was just starting to find her stride after a suitable warm-up jog to the park, when the sound of two gunshots filled the air.

Carter dove to the ground, going for a gun that she didn't have. Already wondering what she had been thinking going for a run, by herself, without a weapon. She poked her head up, looking around for any clue as to what was going on.

Not sure what was going on, Sam tentatively got to her feet, still looking around for any reason there might have been gunshots.

By her own calculations and experience, she was pretty confident that the shots hadn't been aimed at her, but she was still wary of the fact that someone had a gun that could easily be turned on her. Ten years on SG-1, and eight with Jack had made her extra wary of unknown people with weapons.

For the time being, Sam hung close to the cluster of trees that could easily double as cover in a pinch.

Within minutes, sirens sounded, announcing the arrival of police offers on the scene. Sam began making her way towards the police cruiser, still trying to stick close to the limited cover available in the trees.

"Can I help you ma'am?" Officer Mallow asked the blonde haired woman.

The very good looking blonde haired woman.

"I heard gunshots," Sam reported, choosing to ignore the obvious 'looking' that the man was doing.

Before Officer Mallow could respond, a report came over his radio indicating a body had been found- and that he happened to be a Marine, as identified by the dog tags he was wearing.

"Looks like you'll be hanging around for a while ma'am," the officer voiced his apology, but Sam could tell that he really wasn't that sorry.

By the time the investigators from NCIS showed up, Sam was no longer sweaty, but she felt disgusting, dirty, and really, really, really wanted a shower.

Instead she got Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo 'but my friends call me Tony' who was a cross between well, Sam wasn't quite sure who he was a cross between, but he quickly became close to the last person Sam wanted to take her statement.

Especially, when he turned out to be the most suspicious, doubting man she had ever met.

Until she met his boss Special Agent Gibbs, and then she understood why he was the way his was. 'Cause Special Agent Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo's boss was even more suspicious of her than 'Tony' was. There was no doubt that Special Agent Gibbs was Jack O'Neill's long lost brother- if only he would start quoting the Simpsons. He even had the 'Jack O'Neill glare of doom' down pat as he tried to make her shake in her shoes like a new recruit.

An hour later she was sitting in an interrogation room wondering if it was the fact that she hadn't fallen victim to his stare that had earned her the current accommodations.

Well that and the fact she had refused to give a blood sample to compare with some blood found at the scene.

Naquadah was still a classified element, and Sam couldn't take the chance of them finding it in her blood sample.

The Stargate program couldn't take that chance.

All of this added together and that was, she supposed, the reason she was sitting here.

She wondered if anyone had noticed that she wasn't at home, but considering SG-1 was off-world and Jack was at work that was unlikely. Still, the first thing she did when a woman walked into the room was ask for the opportunity to make a phone call.

"Not at this time," she responded with a slight Middle Eastern accent, after giving her name as Special Agent Ziva David.

Rather then protest, Sam sat there silently waiting to see what was gong to happen next. The two women sat there for a long time, just looking at each other.

Eventually, the other woman got up and left the room, without ever having said or done much else.

Within minutes, the door to the room opened and Agent Gibbs walked in, two cups of coffee in hand.

"Coffee?" he asked.

Sam accepted the cup with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I'm going to be straight with you here Mrs. O'Neill," Gibbs began, "I don't think you're involved with the death of this Marine. I think it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time. But you aren't giving me anything to work with. We ran a check for O'Neill's in D.C. and the tri-state area, and we came up empty. The address you gave us is also not owned by an O'Neill."

Sam almost had to laugh at the set of coincidences that led to her being here.

Almost, except for the fact that the reason she had missed out on taking her planned bubble bath was that she was sitting in this room and was unwilling to give a sample of her blood, which would turn out to be blood type N positive, instead of the A, B, or O that their lab techs would be looking for.

"Can I get a phone call?" Sam asked, knowing that before all of this was over, someone was going to have to verify something, and considering she was in D.C., it would be that much easier if someone came directly to NCIS headquarters rather then playing phone tag with them.

Agent Gibbs looked at her, sizing her up. Finally he nodded, handing over his cell phone.

From memory, Sam dialed the direct number for Jack's office, not wanting to chance his cell phone and end up being force to leave a voicemail.

"General O'Neill's office, how may I help you?"

"Um yes, this is Mrs. O'Neill. Is the General in by chance?" Sam asked, choosing her words carefully.

"I'm afraid not ma'am. Major Davis is available; would he be able to help you?"

"I guess he'll have to do."

"Colonel Carter?" Major Paul Davis asked from the other end of the phone.

"This isn't a secure phone Major," were the first words out of her mouth, giving him a warning not to say anything that could be considered classified. She had no doubts that someone was listening to this call right now. "I've managed to get myself into a little trouble here in D.C. and could use some help getting out of it."

Special Agent Gibbs looked on as though his mind was anywhere else but the conversation taking place right in front of him, but Sam knew he had to be hanging on every word.

"What can I do?" Davis asked, ever ready to help.

"I'm at NCIS headquarters and if you could bring the standard non-classified version of my file, that would be great," Sam suggested.

"Should I inform the General?" Davis questioned, almost grimacing at the idea.

Sam paused, weighing her options. "Isn't he supposed to be in meetings all day?"

"I think so, but we both know how that will go…"

Sam had smile in agreement, even though Davis couldn't see it. "Leave him a message," Sam instructed. "Don't interrupt his meetings though."

"Yes ma'am."

Sam hung up the phone and handed it back to Agent Gibbs. "Thank you Agent Gibbs."

The man shrugged, like it didn't really matter to him what she thought of him.

"You going to tell me what that was about?"

"Not really."

Agent Gibbs gave her another look, studying her in between sips of his coffee, before a knock at the door forced him to leave the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack O'Neill didn't run, but he liked to think that he 'walked with purpose' as he followed his escort and searched out Agent Gibbs. He was accompanied by Major Davis who had looked surprised to find the General already at NCIS and trailed by two uniformed Air Force officers, both of whom had become his bodyguards slash drivers ever since Ba'al had been found on Earth, never mind how much Jack protested.

Hayes had ordered him to keep them around as long as he was on-duty, but had relented on making them travel with Jack as long as another member of the SGC was with him. In exchange, a high tech security system had been installed in _all _of his residences, even his beloved Minnesota cabin, and as long as he used it, which he did after some serious harping from Sam, he wasn't required to have bodyguards during his off hours. Though Jack was pretty sure that someone was still probably in charge of at least driving by his house once or twice a night, though he had yet to prove such an event actually happened.

It had taken them too long, by Jack's standards, to get through security and into the building.

And the elevator in this building moved way too slow for his standards too.

He wondered if he could talk the President into getting rings installed instead of elevators in every government building. Jack filed that thought away to bring it up later in a meeting, or at least run it past Sam. He knew it probably wasn't possible, but it would be a distraction, meant solely to keep her mind off of losing the position as Commanding Officer of Atlantis.

Their escort directed them to a set of desks where three agents were working at their desks. The man closest to them stood up.

"Major Davis I presume?"

"Yes. And you are?" Davis asked. He tried looking at his CO out of the corner of his eye, but was unable to read him.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I'm curious as to why the Air Force is so concerned about our suspect in a murder investigation," the Agent questioned, keeping his tone neutral to see what kind of reaction he would get from the Air Force officers.

"Suspect?" Jack repeated in disbelief but was still slightly relieved. The use of the word suspect confirmed that she was alive, even though Davis had already told him as much.

"Mrs. O'Neill was found at a crime scene. She refused to give us a blood sample in an attempt to rule her out as a possible suspect, so what else are we supposed to think?" Special Agent DiNozzo asked in a tone intentionally meant to garner a reaction, if one was there to be gotten.

Now Jack was mad. There was no doubt in his mind that Sam had nothing to do with this case. In fact, when he had arrived home just in time for lunch, he had been worried that she might be in the morgue, not in an interrogation room.

/Flashback/

He had managed to schedule only a half day of work for today, as part of a surprise for Sam. Jack had planned to make it home in time to suggest a late lunch or early dinner at one of their favorite restaurants.

The last thing he had expected was to come home to a place where Sam wasn't. Her dog tags still rested on the dresser, evidence that Sam hadn't gone far, and had probably just forgotten them when she had gone out for a run. She hadn't worn them the night before when Jack had taken her out for a nice dinner and a little bit of dancing D.C. style which really meant attending some Washington D.C. function required by his position as the Head of Homeworld Security.

The fact that they were still laying there at noon gave Jack reason to worry. An inspection of her shoe pile left him with the conclusion that she had, as he had suspected, gone for a run and hadn't come back yet. Her cell phone still sat on the charger, her gun still in the nightstand.

Jack waited patiently for thirty minutes (and not a second more) before he gave into his fears and had Walter locate her subcutaneous transmitter.

When the address came up as NCIS, Jack had his driver slash bodyguards make the trip in record time, unable to shake the feeling that she was dead.

Finding out she was very much alive, had been a relief.

/End Flashback/

"Where is she?" Jack demanded, giving into his desire to see her.

"Are you her lawyer?" Tony asked, looking between the four men in front of him.

"No, I'm her husband," Jack responded.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't speak to her right now. Special Agent Gibbs is currently speaking with her," Tony said firmly.

"Agent Donato-"

"DiNozzo."

"DiNozzo," Jack repeated, trying really hard to pretend that he cared. "I want to speak with your boss. And if you don't want to spend the rest of your career at the most miserable job they give people here, I suggest you find him. Now!"

"Ziva," Tony instructed with a toss of his head.

Jack didn't bother to wait for the offer to follow, he just did. He pushed right past the agent and followed Ziva.

Within seconds, he found himself face to face with one Special Agent Gibbs, which meant that someone had informed him that he was coming, probably the nerdy looking young man that hadn't moved during the short exchange between the Air Force officers and NCIS agents.

"He insisted on seeing you sir," Ziva offered as way of explanation.

The two men starred at each other, as though trying to get the other to back down.

"You have my wife in custody?" Jack questioned, finally relenting and breaking the ice.

"Depends on who your wife is," Gibbs said offhandedly.

"I think you know who she is. Colonel Samantha Carter."

The look of shock was evident in both their faces.

"I'm afraid you've been misinformed Mr….?" Gibbs suggested.

"O'Neill. Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill," Jack filled in the gaps for them, not afraid of tossing his rank around if it got him what he wanted. Even dressed in civilian clothes, he had no fear that he would get what he wanted.

Having the President on speed dial tended to help in circumstances such as this one.

It was as if pieces of a puzzle had fallen into place for the both of the NCIS agents, who traded quick glances, or glares in the case of Agent Gibbs at Agent David.

"Come with me General," Gibbs instructed.

They walked a few steps down the hallway and into what Jack quickly discovered must be an observation room.

If he had been a little boy, Jack would have had his nose pressed to the window.

But he wasn't.

Lieutenant Generals didn't go around leaving nose prints on windows.

So getting as close as he could without physically touching the glass would have to do.

"Is that her?" Gibbs asked softly.

"Yeah," Jack answered, unable to keep the relief from his voice. He turned to look at the Agent beside him. "She just came back from being deployed on her first command abroad yesterday," he confided. "She was gone for a year. I came home to find her gone, her dog tags still on the dresser. I thought that she had survived everything out there, only to have something happen to her here at home."

Gibbs nodded in understanding. "She won't give us a blood sample."

Jack huffed as he rubbed a hand through his hair.

"Any chance you could talk her into giving us one?"

Jack hesitated. He wanted so badly to talk to her that he almost lied to the man, but he couldn't do that.

Sam wouldn't want him to do that.

In fact, she would probably kick his… butt if he did.

"No," he admitted.

Gibbs' expression darkened.

"It's not that she doesn't want to," Jack explained. "Her medical records are classified. You can't draw blood; take a DNA sample, pretty much anything from her without the appropriate level of security clearance."

Gibbs looked curious but knew enough not to ask, so Jack answered the unasked question for him.

"Lab accident messed everything up," Jack offered up the standard cover-up story for Sam's messed up body chemistry.

Now Jack hesitated again before speaking. "If you let me talk to her, we can probably get you the information you need," he hedged.

He wasn't willing to outright lie, but he wasn't past bending the truth here and there to get him what he wanted.

Gibbs considered his request.

"Okay."

The shock must have shown in Jack's face.

"Didn't expect me to say yes, did you?"

"Not really."

"You didn't lie to me, and most men would have," Gibbs explained. "Besides, I don't think she had anything to do with it."

"Sam didn't," Jack assured him confident in this fact.

Gibbs led him back to the interrogation room door and opened it for him.

Jack stepped through the door to the interrogation room, and couldn't have been prouder of his wife than he was at that moment. A year in a command position hadn't dulled her skills in the field at all. She still ignored the presence of a coming interrogator, just like he would have.

That thought was especially reassuring for him.

Now that he had reassured himself that she was safe, he could afford some humor. "Speeding again were you Carter?"

Sam's head whipped around at the sound of her husband's voice.

"Only if you count foot races," she retorted after a beat.

The only thing that would be able to tell who made the first move was the security cameras, because neither Jack nor Sam could recall who moved first, only that they ended up in each other's arms.

It took several hours for Jack and Sam to coordinate with Carolyn Lam in getting a blacked out version of her physical report, which pretty much they could read her name, service number, and gave them something to compare DNA to.

Davis was left in a daze after monitoring the test performed by NCIS's forensic scientist, which had been Jack's concession in Sam finally giving up a DNA sample.

But even before that Gibbs had sent his team out to look for another suspect, investigate any possible reason why the man had been gunned down in cold blood at a park. He trusted his gut when it told him that these people weren't responsible for this.

He was pretty sure they were involved in something big, especially when Jenny had emerged from her office to greet the General and Colonel personally, and she gave DiNozzo 'the look' when one of the General's bodyguards returned with lunch for the two higher ranking officers, and Tony had been in the process of objecting to giving a 'prisoner' real outside food. Gibbs knew he had trained the Director better than that, so whoever this couple was, they must have friends in high places.

Before he even had the test results back that would confirm the Colonel's innocence, Gibbs walked the couple to the General's car.

"I won't apologize for detaining her," Gibbs said as General O'Neill gave him one last look before sliding in next to his wife.

"You were just doing your job," Jack surmised.

"Yes."

"Notify Major Davis when the case is closed," Jack requested before holding out his hand for the man to shake.

"Will do," Gibbs replied, shaking the General's hand. By the time the car was out of sight, Gibbs' thoughts had already returned to the case, pushing thoughts of the General and the Colonel out of his mind.

"Home Jeeves," Jack said as he shut the car door and wrapped an arm around his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

"That wasn't how I planned on spending my first day of vacation," Sam said much later that evening, once it was just the two of them doing dishes in the kitchen. "Or how you envisioned spending one of your last days of work either."

Jack's silence spoke mounds.

Sam turned off the water and leaned on the counter. "They aren't going to let you go, are they?"

"No." There wasn't any way for Jack to break this to her gently. He had meant to tell her last night, but Sam had been so happy to see him, that he just couldn't do it. She deserved so much more than his broken promises. This was third time since they had gotten married he had broken his promise to retire, and it didn't hurt any less than the first had.

The first had been right after they had gotten married and Jack had promised to retire so he could move to Area 51 and be with Sam. Instead, he had gotten a promotion and sent to D.C.

The second had occurred the day before he had found out that Sam had been tapped to take over as the Commanding Officer of Atlantis. Sam couldn't turn down the position, and Jack couldn't and wouldn't follow her to Atlantis, forcing him to put his retirement off for another year.

This time it had been final though. After last year, Hayes had done everything but given his word that Jack could float away into obscurity when Sam got back. Now Hayes wanted him to stay for another year to "ease the transition" for the new President-elect.

"I'm sorry Sam," Jack finally said in a whispered tone. He half expected her to start throwing things in anger and the other half of him expected her to storm out in anger.

That was what Sara had done the last two times his job had forced them to move.

Sam sighed. "Here I was thinking that things were going to be easy for once," she said in an obviously disappointed tone.

"I'm so sorry Sam," Jack said again, but even to his ears the words sounded hollow. He dropped his head and shoulders in defeat.

This was it.

His devotion to his career and country was going to be the breaking point in a relationship for the second time in his life.

"Don't!" Sam demanded.

"Don't what?"

"Don't apologize!"

"Sorr-"

Silence.

"So what did they promise this time?"

"Hayes promised less time in D.C. and more time at the SGC and Area 51. He also wants to talk to you about your options," Jack managed to get out without ever looking at Sam. He finally forced himself look at Sam. "I think he wants you to take over Research and Development."

"At Area 51?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "We've been tossing around the idea of making someone head of all that stuff, especially during the construction phase of the next ship with all the new technology that's going onto it."

"Oh."

"It will be up to the new President as to what happens though."

Silence.

Sam returned to washing the dishes.

"Just say it," Jack begged.

"What?" Sam asked, obviously confused as she continued scrubbing again.

"That you're mad at me," Jack stated, like it was plain as day.

"I'm not mad at you."

"Sure you're not," he claimed, a sarcastic edge finding its way into his voice.

"No, I'm not mad at you," Sam repeated, taking the time to emphasize the word 'you' as she turned around. "Do I wish that we weren't so indispensible to our superiors? Yousurebetch'ya. But there is no way I could be mad at you for that. It isn't your fault that you're so good at your job any more than it is my fault for being so good at mine. If I hadn't gone to Atlantis-"

"Don't. It was too good of an opportunity for you to pass up," Jack insisted.

"I know. It's just that if I hadn't… we might have a baby by now," Sam admitted, suddenly finding the floor fascinating.

Jack took three big steps forward, his own worries suddenly forgotten because Sam was worrying and hurting. "Hey," he said softly, using his hand to make her focus on him. "We agreed before we got married that a baby would be nice but it was not going to be the end all of our relationship. And you promised," here he almost choked on the word, "That you were not going to worry about it until one of us retired."

He couldn't hear her agreement so much as feel it with the nod of her head against his body.

"I think I'm going to have to break that promise," Sam finally said as the last of her sniffles disappeared.

"Maybe we can trade broken promises," Jack suggested, his nose still buried in her hair.

He really liked her with long hair, he decided.

Sam pulled back quickly. "Which promise did you break?" She asked, fear creeping into her stomach at the mere thought of what could possibly be wrong.

"Retirement? Times three?" Jack reminded, not quite able to figure out how she could have forgotten.

"Oh. That wasn't your fault that was orders."

"Not last year," Jack reminded her.

"It kept you busy," Sam claimed. "You would have gone crazy within the first week of me being gone otherwise."

"It would have taken two," Jack insisted. "Daniel would have gone crazy after the first week."

Sam actually gave a half-hearted chuckle at that comment.

"So?"

"So?"

"So… maybe with you back on Earth for the foreseeable future, we rethink some things. Together, and then whatever we decide, we take it to the powers that be and let them know that that is how things are going to be, and if they don't like it… well then I'm sure we can go live off-world with… who would we go live off-world with?" Jack questioned.

Sam giggled, and it was like music to Jack's ears. "Bra'tac or Teal'c would probably help us out."

"So we're good with working this out?"

"I like to think of it as re-evaluating Jack."

"Then let's re-evaluate," Jack agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam wasn't quite sure how she went from being on leave to going to a meeting at the White House with Jack to inform the President-elect about the existence of the Stargate. His driver picked her up at their house first before continuing on to the Pentagon to pick up Jack and ending at the White House.

The security was par for the course, but the fact they were kept waiting for almost 20 minutes was not. The last two times Sam had been to the White House and met with Hayes, he had been on time, if not a little bit early.

"What do you think they'll say?" Sam asked as she sat next to Jack, waiting patiently for Hayes to finish up.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Hayes will back me; it is the new President that's the wild card."

Further conversation was stopped by the opening of the door to the Oval Office and the emergence of a long line of Generals, many of whom looked slightly miffed as they offered nods of their head in greeting to Jack.

"Good luck," one of them even whispered as he filed past.

"General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, come on in," President Henry Hayes said with obvious enthusiasm.

They followed him into the office and shut the door.

The greatness of this room was never lost on Sam. Getting the opportunity to be in this room once was quite an honor for any United States citizen. As a member of the military, it was an even greater honor.

The last time she had been in this room, Jack and Hayes had surprised her with a promotion to full bird Colonel.

Now she was here to inform the next leader of the United States of America, the biggest political figure for the people of Earth, and therefore of the Tau'ri about the role she would play in deciding the fate of two galaxies.

It was mind boggling.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the introductions from President Hayes.

"Senator Lynn and Senator Michaels, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant General Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill and Colonel Samantha Carter," Hayes began. "Jack and Sam this is Senator Erin Lynn and Senator Brian Michaels, also known as the next President and Vice-President of the United States."

"Ma'am, sir," Jack and Sam said at the same time, offering an official greeting to their soon to be commander in chief and the Vice-President.

"I thought our meetings were done for the day Mr. President," Erin said, looking at her watch.

"The on the books stuff is done Senator, this is the classified briefing," Jack explained.

"I thought the classified briefing was what just occurred," Brian questioned.

Hayes chuckled. "That was the classified briefing; this is the ultra top secret classified briefing. Just be glad we're doing this now. I didn't find out until my first day in office."

They sat down and accepted the drinks from the President. "Go ahead Jack," Hayes instructed.

Jack smiled. "Senators, I'm here today to tell you about the Stargate Program, code name Project Bluebook. Have either of you heard of it?"

"No General," Michaels responded while Lynn just gave a shake of her head.

And so Jack began to tell them about the history of the SGC, the brief version of course, and then onto the SGC.

He glazed over the dangers and perils that he had seen and Earth had faced. There was no need to make them so worried before they got into office. He actually wanted them to actually be President and Vice-President before they decided they didn't want the job anymore.

Every so often there would be a question that Jack would turn to Sam for her expertise on, especially when it came to Atlantis because she was much more familiar with that than he was, but for the most part she sat there and listened to Jack tell a story that she knew just as well as he did. Because it was essentially a story of their life together before they got married- just without any concentration on them.

"And that's where we are now," Jack finished, looking at Sam and then Hayes to see if there was anything he might have forgotten.

"Wow!"

"Yeah. You're either telling the truth, or Henry has decided to try and pull one over on us," Brian joked.

"That's what I thought when they told me," Hayes said with a chuckle remembering with almost a sense of nostalgia that first day in office and the days that followed when he had faced his first planetary threat.

He could only hope that this pair's first few days in office would go much smoother than his had.

"Anyways," Hayes said, redirecting the conversation to the issue at hand. "While you're here, I wanted to take care of a few personnel issues. General O'Neill informed me this morning that he is willing to withdrawal his third request for retirement while I've been in office for your guarantee that you'll permit him to retire one year from now."

"Fourth," Jack corrected, and then he was force to explain when the one Sam didn't know about had been. "I talked about resigning right after I took command and that whole thing with Ba'al and loosing you guys at that Ancient outpost happened."

Sam nodded her head. She understood doubting yourself in a new command. She had done the same thing at Atlantis, though her CO hadn't exactly been very close for her to submit a resignation to.

"When are we scheduled to see this… Stargate?" Erin asked.

"Tomorrow. You're schedule to be at the Pentagon all day. Actually you'll be beamed from my office to the Phoenix, the ship currently under construction in orbit, to the SGC. We'll give you a short tour-"

"We'll?" Sam questioned her husband, oblivious of the fact that she was in the Oval Office with the President, President-elect and Vice-President-elect.

"I figured you'd want to be there. SG-1 is going to be back," Jack said, attempting to entice her.

"I'll be there," Sam said quickly before Jack changed his mind.

"SG-1?" Michaels asked.

"The premier team in the Stargate Program. General O'Neill led it the team for 7 years with then Captain and Major Carter as his 2IC. Then when he took over command of the SGC, she became Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter and took command of SG-1 until she left for Atlantis with a promotion to Colonel Carter. Don't worry it is all in your briefing packets prepared by one of my aides," Hayes explained with a wave of his hand.

"And anything you don't understand, you can ask us tomorrow," Jack assured them.

"Now, I think we'd better go to dinner or else our husband and wives will be rather upset at us for working straight through dinner when we don't need to," Hayes said, standing up to indicate that the meeting was over.

The walk to dinner was short, and the Air Force officers no more then made it through the door before they collided with a pair of tornados.

"General Jack!" the ten year old Hayes twins shouted in greeting until they caught sight of the second guest.

"Colonel Sam!" they shouted.

This was why Sam and Jack didn't mind eating dinner at the White House. After Jack's first dinner there, shortly after his promotion to General, where the twins hadn't been present, Jack had abruptly asked Henry where his family was- much to the dismay of General Hammond, who had also been present.

Hayes had grudgingly admitted that they had already eaten because his last guest had commented that he found it impolite to that the President had invited his children to the dinner table.

Jack had responded by telling him that he thought it was impolite not to invite them, and asked if they had had dessert yet. When Hayes admitted he didn't know, Jack had insisted that he invite them in so he could meet them. A few minutes later, they had come bounding down the stairs already in their pajamas and had dug into what Jack later found out, were their second dessert of the evening. Convincing their dad to give them two desserts was enough to win over the hearts of the then six year old children, and Jack was suddenly their best friend.

The two previous times Sam had been to the White House, Jack and she had stayed for dinner. Of course, that meant she had met the Hayes twins, and the fact that Jack liked her meant that they did too.

Though Sam suspected the fact that the White House chef made this amazing chocolate cake every time Jack was going to be there, might contribute to the couple's popularity in the eyes of the children.

"Did you get a new medal Colonel Sam?" Lindsey Hayes asked.

"Not this time," Sam said unable to keep the smile from her face.

"Why not? Did you not behave well at work?" Mark Hayes questioned. "Dad says that General Jack doesn't behave sometimes. He said that he in…in… infuriates people."

Sam had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at her husband who sporting a nice blush. All eyes in the room were on him.

"What? I can't help if I'm not the beat around the bush guy that most of this city is used to!" He claimed.

"Why do I get the feeling that General O'Neill could be more trouble than he's worth?" Sam heard Senator Lynn whisper to her future Vice-President and the current President.

"He might be a lot of trouble, but Jack is the guy you want in your corner. You can always count on him to give you all the facts and make the decisions that are in the best interest of… everyone," Hayes assured them in a voice loud enough for all to hear. "He's one of a kind, and you're lucky to have him."

"Thank you Mr. President. I'll remind you of that the next time I bring bad news," Jack claimed with a roguish grin.

"Ah! Enough of this shop talk," Mrs. Hayes cut in. "Let's eat."

Jack and Sam found them tugged towards the 'kids' end of the table by the Hayes twins who were quickly joined by the two Lynn girls and the three Michaels children. Jack and Sam began by engaging the twins in the general dinnertime conversation and slowly drew the other five children into the conversation. They laughed and joked their way through the meal, obviously having way more fun than the adults at the other end of the table who had spent the meal in a rather serious discussion involving the political situation of the country.

The kitchen staff cleared way the main course and then proceeded to bring out dessert.

"Ah! This is the reason to eat at the White House, chocolate cake," Jack whispered to his captive audience of children as though it was some state secret.

Of course the children giggled, right along with the adults.

"You could have been the Head of the Joint Chiefs for Senator Lynn Jack, and then you could have eaten here all the time," Hayes reminded the man.

Jack shrugged. "The food isn't _that_ good Mr. President." He paused for a second and then repeated his next statement purposely loud enough for the chef to hear. "Not that I would say no to a second piece of that cake," which of course produced laughs from everyone present once more.

Later that night, once they were safely tucked into bed, Sam brought up the subject Jack knew she must have been waiting all night to ask. "Why didn't you tell me you had been offered the chance to be the Head of the Joint Chiefs?"

"Plain and simple Sam? I didn't want the job. The high point of my career was leading SG-1 as a Colonel."

Sam turned to look at him. "I never realized you hated your job so much."

"I don't hate it. There are a lot of days I wish I was retired, but there's no one else I can trust to do the job right now. A year from now there will be someone who can do the job, and I'll be ready to stay home with that baby we're going to have," Jack said with an air of confidence.

"If that's what you want…"

"It is what I want Samantha, it's the only thing I've wanted for a very long time," Jack assured her.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam was working in her lab at the SGC when Jack walked in and shut the door.

The fact that he was at the SGC should have tipped her off. It was the middle of the week and he was supposed to be in D.C.

But for some reason, it didn't.

And neither did his blank expression.

Sam smiled a greeting, putting down everything she had been trying to concentrate on. "What are you doing here?" she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"I just got a call. General Hammond's dead," Jack said bluntly, delivering the news that had touched him to the core.

A flood of emotion went through Sam's body; she battled to try and control her urge to cry, but lost that battle and tears started to stream down her face. "I just saw him yesterday," Sam whispered. "He can't be dead."

Jack gathered her in his arms careful to avoid the various medals that adorned his uniform. "I know," he repeated over and over again as he slowly rocked her in his arms.

Sam's sobs eventually subsided, as did her grip on his shirt. She carefully extracted herself from his arms.

An announcement ordering all personnel to the gate room gave Sam the opportunity to wipe her nose with a tissue.

"That would be my cue," Jack stated. "I need to go break the news. You should go."

Sam tried not to show the pain that Jack caused her by pushing her away, but she couldn't force herself to call him on it.

Within minutes, Jack was standing in front of the impromptu gathering of SGC personnel. Sam was towards the back of the room, close to the door because she had slipped in just before Jack and General Landry.

Jack issued an "At ease," before he scanned the room, thinking about everyone who was there and those that weren't. Noticeably absent was SG-1, who was visiting Teal'c on Dakara. Jack wasn't looking forward to delivering this news to them any more than he was to his current crowd.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news to deliver," he began and the room went deathly silent. "I received a call early this morning that General George Hammond passed away during the night from a heart attack. He will be buried with full military honors later this week next to his wife. All personnel who wish to attend should submit a request to their CO. I will personally see to it that as many as possible are approved. All off-world travel will be suspended until after the funeral, and all teams are in the process of being recalled. My only request is that no one informs any returning team of the news as General Landry or I will do that ourselves." Jack paused, he wanted to say something profound, but couldn't find the words. "Dismissed," he barked out, harsher than he intended, but it managed to stir the crowd from its silence.

He noticed Sam was one of the first out the door, and he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. They had both been close to Hammond, but Sam's reaction the news had been something different than what he expected.

Or maybe it was his own memory that was faulty, but she had reacted stronger than when her father died, maybe because it had been so sudden. With Jacob there had been some warning, not a lot, but enough for Sam to put her emotions aside until much later, when it had just been them at his cabin in Minnesota.

"Why don't you take Colonel Carter and go to the Hammonds?" Landry suggested quietly.

Jack shot Hank a look. "I don't want to miss SG-1's return. They deserve to hear this from me and no one else. I'll send Carter over with a driver."

Hank went to say something else but the vibe that Jack was giving off kept him from doing so.

Many, many hours later SG-1 stepped through the gate to a rather quiet room, filled to the brim with emotion, and a waiting Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill.

"What's going on Jack?" Daniel asked as Jack gave a toss of his head for the SFs to leave the room. He had noticed the change in Jack as soon as he had seen him. Jack's eyes were the dark, spiritless orbs they had been when first met him, prior to the first mission to Abydos. Grief radiated from his every pore, even if his face refused to show it.

Jack cleared his throat. "I have some bad news," he said softly and slowly, giving his former team the chance for the news to soak in.

"Sam?" Daniel asked, his mind instantly jumping to the first thing that could upset Jack so badly.

"No," Jack responded just as quickly. "She's fine. It's General Hammond. He died during the night. They think it was a heart attack."

Jack watched as the expressions on their faces went from relief to grief in seconds. "Landry will debrief you in an hour. Dismissed."

Cam, Teal'c, and Vala filed past. Only Daniel remained behind.

"How is Sam doing?" Daniel asked quietly.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Okay I guess. She's been with Hammond's family most of the day."

"Have you even talked to her Jack?" Daniel accused the man.

"I don't think that's any of your business Daniel."

"Jack?"

"Daniel."

"Jack!"

"Daniel," Jack said in a tone that clearly meant he didn't want to continue this conversation.

"This has to be hard for her Jack. General Hammond was like a father to Sam, especially in the past few-"

"Daniel! Stay out of it!"

Daniel sighed, shook his head at Jack's obvious ignorance, and tried one more time. "Don't shut her out Jack. She needs you as much as you need her," he advised to Jack's retreating back.

Jack never stopped walking.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack shed his uniform as quickly as he could when he arrived home. He had picked up Sam on the way along with a pizza. He went to grab a beer from the fridge for himself, knowing that Sam wouldn't want one, and really didn't like him drinking when they had to go to work the next morning.

But he needed to do something to lose himself tonight and drinking a couple beers was the best way for him to do that.

"We need to talk," Sam said from the doorway after watching her husband bang around the kitchen for a few minutes.

"Not tonight Carter," Jack said, being rather short with Sam, but really not caring at this point.

"Jack-"

"What part about not tonight don't you understand?" Jack yelled, spinning to look at her. He felt bad when he saw the look of pain flash across her face. But tonight he just wasn't capable or willing to deal with anyone's emotions other than his own.

He shouldered past her and dropped to couch. He fully expected her to follow, but instead Sam retreated to their bedroom, closing the door behind her with a slam. Jack struggled with whether or not to go after her, and finally settled for letting her cool off a little bit first. He heard the shower run then shut off and figured Sam was getting ready for bed.

If she didn't come out in a few minutes, Jack knew he needed to go in after her and at least make an attempt at an apology.

A few minutes turned into a couple of hours and Jack never did make it in to apologize. Instead he spent the night on the couch, evidence by the fact he woke up there the next morning.

He spent the next few days in a fog, barely functioning, much in the same way that he had been after Charlie's death. He knew his friends were worried about him, heck Sam was worried about him, but he had more important things to do then be concerned about them and what they were thinking.

Not that people knew that the couple was having issues. For the small amount of time they were at the SGC, it was business as usual. But a rift had grown between them, and if they were to fix it, one of them was going to have to reach across the great divide that had opened up.

That was no small thing for two people that rarely talked about their feelings, let alone admitted having any.

The day of the funeral dawned gray, gloomy, and rain was in the forecast. The weather was perfect for laying to rest a great General.

The church was packed to the point of overflowing, and security was tight. A former President was scheduled to be part of the gathering along with several of the Joint Chiefs, and a few of Earth's closest off world allies, such as Bra'tac.

Jack sat next to his wife, no closer to her today then he did at the funeral of her own father. The notes for his own speech were clasped tightly in his fist. He had carefully prepared them, but when his turn came to speak, he rose from his seat and tucked them in his pocket. George deserved something more than a few notes jotted down on paper. He only hoped that he could give him that.

He looked out over the gathered crowd. So many people were here today to pay tribute to a man that touched so many lives.

"I'm not a man of many words, but I know this. George Hammond was a great man who happened to be a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He made decisions that many of us can't even begin to comprehend. But he did it in such a way that I wondered if I could ever fill his shoes. I expressed that sentiment to him, and he looked me straight in the eye and said, "I wondered the same thing every day son. You'll do just fine." He started to walk away when he turned around and told me, "Jack, just make sure you listen to the people around you, they know what they're doing." He paused one more time and then said. "And don't ever forget to order desserts for the mess. Certain people on this base don't work very well if their denied their chocolate cake." You may laugh," Jack continued. "But he was talking about me."

The whole crowd joined in with laughter of their own.

"General Hammond was many things. He was a father, grandfather, and a leader, but to me he will forever be remembered as great man, uniform notwithstanding. George, you'll be greatly missed."

Jack stepped from the podium and returned to his seat. Former President Henry Hayes took his place.

"I am here today, not as a President, but as a man who knew Lieutenant General Hammond back when we were both just Lieutenants. I could tell you stories about that man, but not without implicating myself along the way," Hayes admitted, giving the crowd a smile as they chuckled. His face became more serious. "Some day the world will know of his contributions to their safety. But that is not what I am here today to speak of. Instead, I want to tell you about the great man and how I met him."

For the next ten minutes, Henry Hayes gave the crowd story after story about a man they all loved dearly. Soon after, Lieutenant General George Hammond was put in his final resting place, next to his wife.

Taps played and a squadron of 302s flew overhead.

A flag was folded and presented to the oldest daughter.

The wake was held at Hammond's house. The counters were covered in food and the backyard was full of mostly children, the clouds having cleared to give them a sunny day. Their parents gathered inside to remember a good man. Secret Service and SFs were posted around the perimeter on security duty.

Jack and Sam were among the last to leave, mostly because they wanted to avoid going home where it was just the two of them.

When they finally did make it more, they were both quick to change out of their uniforms and into something more comfortable.

It was like they were two unmarried, disconnected people living in the same house. Sam couldn't take it anymore. She watched Jack collapse on the couch again. It took all of her will power to not go over and knock some sense into him.

Instead she decided to speak to Jack.

It was time to share her news.

SG1SG1SG1

Jack had fully expected Sam to do something by now.

Yell.

Scream.

Possibly even slap him.

He fully admitted that he deserved it.

But so far, she had chosen to remain silent and avoid him.

Until tonight.

He was watching Bart Simpson skateboard across the screen when Sam strayed into the edge of his vision, capturing his attention. This was the closest she had been to him by choice over the past few days.

She spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. "I love you Jack O'Neill, but you ever speak to me again like you did that night, or ignore me the way you have the past few days, and I swear I'll take our child and run straight to Teal'c. I didn't want to talk about anything the other night other than to tell you that I'm pregnant. I thought you might want to know."

Sam sniffled and spun on her own heals, obviously intent on leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.

He gave her a few minutes to collect herself and for him to collect his thoughts, and this time he did go after her.

He paused in the doorway of their bedroom. Sam was already in bed, curled up under the covers. Jack sat on the bed, his back to Sam, unsure of what he should do. Deciding that since Sam hadn't kicked him out of bed yet, he was probably safe to slide in next to her, he did so. He tentatively reached out to touch her, opening his arms, but leaving the choice entirely up to her if she accepted his offer.

Surprisingly, Sam snuggled against him, taking to heart that this might be the only offer of comfort she might get from him tonight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, clinging onto Sam for dear life. It was only as he held her now that he realized this was what he had been missing the past few days. This is what he had needed.

Too bad it had taken him this long to figure it out.

Sam lay there, feeling the tension start to leave her husband's body. "I know," she whispered back.

"I love you."

Jack could feel her laughing in his arms. He didn't really care why she was laughing, just that she was. He really didn't care if she continued laughing or started crying, just as long as she stayed right where she was.

Okay, that was lie, he really didn't want her to start crying, but considering she was pregnant… he knew it was only a matter of time before it started happening.

And he realized that he had a huge grin on his face. Sam being pregnant was like a dream come true, for the both of them. "Thank you," he finally managed to speak aloud.

"What for?" Sam asked, unable to stop herself.

"For loving me and understanding me. Forgiving me when I screw up, and especially for this," Jack stated, placing a hand on her stomach where their child grew.

Sam covered Jack's hand with her own. "He knew," Sam blurted out, "The day before he died, we had lunch, and I told him. I actually asked him if he minded having another grandchild. I honestly thought he was going to have a heart attack." She stiffened a little bit as she realized exactly what she had said.

"I bet he was happy," Jack said, creating a distraction.

"Didn't stop grinning the whole time," Sam confirmed. "He was a little upset that he was going to lose the pool, but was still really happy about things."

Jack chuckled before turning things serious. "If it's a boy, we could name him Jacob George Carter-O'Neill," he suggested.

"I don't want our child named for someone we know."

"Middle names then?" Jack suggested hesitantly.

Jack felt rather then heard her nod. She didn't mention the fact she was convinced it would be a girl. No sense upsetting his beliefs now, she'd wait until later when things between the two of them were back to normal.

Well as normal as things got for two intergalactic heroes.


	7. Chapter 7

"Let's go," Gibbs ordered his team, walking to his desk, picking up his jacket and gun, and then heading for the elevator.

There was a groan from DiNozzo's direction.

They were all just finishing up paperwork from a weeklong case, and now they had just been handed another one.

"Where are we going boss?" DiNozzo asked as he followed him to the elevator.

"Crime scene. Neighbors reported shots fired, police responded to the scene to find a woman on the phone with a 911 operator giving first aid to a man with gunshot wounds. Paramedics arrived and discovered that he was a Marine, that's all I know," Gibbs claimed as he climbed into the driver's seat of the car.

The car was relatively silent as they made the drive. The darkness of the night seemed strange. They would normally arrive separately to nighttime cases, yet they hadn't gotten the chance to get home before getting the call this time.

It wasn't hard to spot the house they were looking for.

There were several cop cars sitting in what was probably a rather quiet neighborhood, and judging by the size of the houses, a relatively well off group of people.

Gibbs took his cup of coffee and approached the house, confused at the various sounds coming from the inside. He walked thru the front door to the sound of someone crying.

Actually it was more like screaming.

And before he could assess the scene, that screaming had to stop.

But on his way, he got stopped by the officer in charge of the scene.

"What's with the screaming?" he asked.

The officer jerked his head towards the room that the noise was emanating from. "Kid won't shut up."

Gibbs shouldered his way past the man. The noise increased the closer he got to the child, but that wasn't what he noticed- it was the fact that the man holding her must have never held a baby in his life, judging by the fact he was holding the baby like it was a smelly dog. Without asking permission, he just took the child from his arms. Careful to support the child's head, Gibbs cradled the small body close to his.

The noise quieted, though the little girl continued to fuss, something Gibbs guessed was probably because she was either hungry or tired from all the screaming she had been doing.

"Thank god," the two officers muttered as the noise disappeared.

Gibbs scowled at them. "Are her parents around?"

The officer in charge cleared his throat. "Mom's out in a squad car, covered in blood. It's obvious that she shot the guy, so we figured that you'd want to take her in."

Gibbs' scowl had grown to the point that the speaking officer seemed to shrink. "Show me," he ordered. He paused in the living room long enough to issue orders. "DiNozzo, see if you can find a bottle for her. David with me."

"Boss?"

Gibbs scowled at the agent, and off he trotted hunting for the bottle. "Don't forget to warm it up DiNozzo!"

Ziva followed her boss without asking any questions, wondering what he was going to have her do, and hoping that he wasn't planning on giving her the baby. She noticed that the police officers scurried out of his way, and hurried to open the door to one of the police cruisers before Gibbs had the chance to request it.

The woman inside wasted no time getting out. "Agent Gibbs, is she okay?" Colonel Samantha Carter asked, concern written on her face as she went to reach for her daughter.

Ziva stepped between the woman and her boss. "Do not."

"Ziva," Gibbs said in a warning tone, clearly surprised to see just who was waiting in the car for him.

"She is covered in evidence Gibbs," Ziva protested.

Gibbs nodded in agreement and made a split second decision. "She's fine," he assured the Colonel. "A little fussy, but nothing a bottle and a nap won't cure. Agent David is going to go with you while you change clothes so she can collect your clothes as evidence. If you cooperate, I'll allow you to hold your daughter while we take your statement."

It was as if the Colonel and the Mother in her were battling, but finally Sam nodded her head in agreement and followed Ziva with one last lingering glance at her daughter.

Gibbs sighed.

This case had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. After last year's escapade he had done a little checking of his own on the Colonel and her husband and had come up with close to nothing. They were obviously involved in something highly classified, which could make this complicated, and then there was the fact that the General was obviously close to the President.

His phone rang and the voice on the other end delivered the last piece of news Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs wanted to receive that evening.

His wounded Marine had just become a dead Marine.

Gibbs paused to check on McGee's progress in the entranceway and living room, and then continued on to the kitchen where DiNozzo was waiting with a bottle. He offered it to Grace and she hungrily accepted.

She was still chowing down when the next person Gibbs expected arrived, with his own entourage in tow.

Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill was in full dress uniform, obviously having come straight from a meeting. He paused in the kitchen, blinked a couple of times before he offered a nod to Gibbs. "Carter?" he asked, obviously more worried about the person from his family that he didn't see rather than the one that he did.

"She's cleaning up," Gibbs explained.

O'Neill nodded his head in understanding and began taking off his jacket and loosening his tie, intent on getting comfortable it seemed. "Secure the location Sergeant," he ordered one of the men. "Make sure they don't touch our computers or any of the other classified doohickeys Mitchell."

"Yes sir," two men said. One broke off to go after the computers while another began issuing orders of his own to some of the remaining SFs.

Pretty soon the kitchen was empty of everyone but Gibbs, Jack, and the little girl who was almost done with her dinner.

Jack timed things so that he was as comfortable in a dress uniform as he was going to get just as Gibbs burped the little girl. Jack held out his arms. The transfer was so smooth that the child didn't fuss one bit.

Big brown eyes looked up at Jack.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm presuming she's yours?" Gibbs questioned.

Jack smiled, quite proud of it. "Yep. Two months old yesterday. Grayson Jaclyn Georgina O'Neill."

"Quite a mouthful."

"I tried telling him that," Samantha Carter claimed as she walked into the kitchen, the stress of the evening's events not quite as evident given the change of clothes. "But he wouldn't listen."

"I can't help that we only picked out names for a boy," Jack claimed, his eyes trying to determine his wife's state as he spoke.

Gibbs could only presume that this was an often occurring argument, judging by Sam's response.

"But you wouldn't have had it any other way," she reminded him as she slipped next to him, letting his arm come around her shoulders as she checked to make sure that their daughter was okay with her own eyes.

"True. If we had had a boy he probably would have ended up looking like me, poor thing!"

Gibbs cleared his throat, reminding the couple that he was still standing there, and attempting to hide the smile that he would have let show through any other time.

The two Air Force Officers looked at him, and then back at each other carrying out a silent conversation with their eyes.

"I'll make the call," Jack finally said, removing his arm and transferring Grace into her mother's arms.

The dark haired man appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later, two laptops in his arms along with several power cords.

"What are you doing Cam?" Sam asked, clearly confused.

Cam smiled. "The General ordered me to secure all the computers and classified stuff. Does he realize how many computers you have? It was almost as bad as if he had told me to secure all of Jackson's books!"

Sam chuckled as she carefully shrugged trying to avoid disturbing the child in her arms. "I've been working from home," she explained, Gibbs guessed for his benefit.

Cam set the pile down on the counter, before coming to stand directly in front of Sam, ignoring the other occupant in the room. "You okay?"

"I'm alive and holding my daughter," Sam finally said. "That's all that matters."

Cam nodded in agreement as his gaze turned to the little girl. "I heard about your new position. Congratulations."

Sam blushed. "Thanks."

Jack returned to the kitchen. "They've got clearance," he stated.

Sam took a deep breath, her lips forming a firm line on her face.

"What do we need clearance for?" Gibbs asked, wondering if he was about to be let in on whatever it was that this couple did which was so important.

"Limited clearance," Jack corrected. "And you need it to understand what happened tonight. Why don't you call your team together and we'll tell you what you need to know," Jack suggested.

Gibbs took the suggestion for what it was meant to be- an order- and did it.


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs returned to find a cup of coffee awaiting him.

"Thank god for Daniel's two minute coffee machine," Jack praised as he drank from his own cup.

"Amen," Cam said.

Everyone sat around the large dining room table, though Jack pulled a chair from the side of the table so he could sit right next to Sam and his daughter at the head of the table.

"What we're about to tell you is classified top secret," Jack began and proceeded to tell Gibbs' team the non-off-world travels version of why someone might have been trying to break into the O'Neill house that night. He gave more time to the explanation of the NID and the Trust, but pretty much avoided any mention of exactly what it was that they did that could warrant so much interest from those groups and the President of the United States.

Cam and Sam nodded in all the right places, obviously having had practice explaining this to people.

Jack finished, and silence hung in the room.

"And this is important because?" DiNozzo asked, obviously looking for the point in this rather lengthy explanation.

"Because the man I shot tonight was interested in Grace. It wasn't just some random robbery or kidnapping, he specifically wanted to kidnap her, probably for some sort of testing," Sam claimed.

"We should probably question him," Cam suggested, stating the obvious.

Gibbs cleared his throat. "Kind of hard to do considering he's dead."

In a room full of people who hadn't killed people before in self-defense, this probably would have brought about a gasp, but in this crowd it brought nothing but hardened looks.

"The President wanted to remove you guys from the case, but I convinced her that it wouldn't be necessary," Jack claimed. "She also wanted to me to take you and Grace and go somewhere safe."

Sam huffed, obviously not liking that suggestion.

"I told her that if she wanted me to do that, she would probably have your resignation on her desk before she finished talking. I called Teal'c and Danny instead. They'll be here within the hour," Jack stated.

"Vala?" Sam questioned.

"Of course. Wouldn't want Daniel to quit being miserable, now would we?" Jack questioned, earning a small smile from his wife for his effort at humor.

"My team doesn't play well with others General," Gibbs advised.

"It will be a joint investigation, but we'll work our contacts and let you work things from your end," Jack assured him.

"You shall permit me entrance to this dwelling Sergeant or face the consequences," Teal'c's deep voice advised someone at the front door.

"Just let me call Jack Teal'c, they might not even be here," they could hear Daniel saying, attempting to tone down the threat of his friend.

"Patience Muscles," Vala cautioned.

"Let them through Miller," Jack yelled from the table. Thirty seconds later, Teal'c strode into the kitchen, blowing past everyone until he came to stand directly behind Sam, Jack, and Grace.

"Are you well O'Neill?" Teal'c asked as Daniel came to a screeching halt next to him.

"We're fine T," Jack assured him, even as Teal'c continued his own examination. Finding everything to his satisfaction, he gave a slight bow, and took a step backwards, permitting Jack and Sam to stand and greet their other two guests with an exchange of hugs.

There was also the required fussing over the baby and how much she had grown, Gibbs noticed, which made him wonder when the last time these people had seen Grace.

Eventually everyone found seats, except the large African American man who remained standing behind the O'Neills. Gibbs didn't fail to notice that he had a view of everyone at the table this way along with being able to see the door.

"What happened Sam?" Daniel asked, realizing that someone needed to ask the question.

Sam took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.

"I had just finished giving Grace a bath when I heard the front door open. I figured it was Jack coming home or that maybe he had given Cam his key," Sam began looking at Cam who shook his head, wishing that it had been him.

"Instead, a man walked into Grace's bedroom. He told me to pick up Grace and go with him. I did as he asked, but insisted I needed to grab Grace's baby bag. I put Grace in her carrier on the way past and went to the hall closet. I picked up the baby bag with one hand and found the gun in it with the other. I turned around and pointed my gun at him. He refused to drop his weapon, instead choosing to point it at me. I made a decision to shoot first and ask questions later. I fired twice and hit him both times. Once in the arm, the other in the chest. I removed his weapon and called 911. I applied pressure to his wounds until help arrived," Sam reported in almost robotic voice.

The sound of pen on paper continued for a few more seconds before Gibbs looked up. He noticed right away that DiNozzo had a look of deep thought on his face. It wasn't something he was used to seeing.

"DiNozzo?"

"I only bagged the Colonel's weapon boss."

All eyes turned to Sam and a lesser woman would have been squirming under their gazes.

"I secured it in the safe," Sam claimed. "It's… classified."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to need that weapon."

Sam looked at Jack. She wasn't going to do anything without an order from him.

Jack was left weighing his options.

"Maybe Sam should disable it first," Daniel suggested, having a fairly good guess as to what the weapon was.

"Can you do that?" Jack checked with Sam.

"Of course."

Gibbs' team looked at him like they expected him to protest. "Wear gloves," he requested even thought she would already have put fingerprints on the weapon.

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Watch her McGee," Gibbs ordered as Sam handed Grace to Jack and went to collect the specially modified gun.

McGee nodded and followed the Colonel, wondering what he was supposed to do if she did something he didn't want her to. He suspected that if it came down to a firefight, even Gibbs would lose this one.

Sam went to her office slash lab and keyed in the combination along with offering her hand for a fingerprint scan and voice identification. Before she opened the door, she turned to the slightly geeky looking man that had followed her. "Gloves?" she requested, holding out her hand.

Wordlessly, McGee handed over the requested pair of gloves.

Using her body as a shield, Sam blocked his view of the contents of the safe, not that the man would know what most the items were, given that pretty much everything was contained in its own box. Still, it was just the fact that these people weren't cleared to know about any of it.

Though with the way things were going, Sam was going to push for Jack to give them full clearance. It would just make things easier.

Sam laid the gun out on her lab table and quickly disassembled it, removing the panels required to reach the power supply, then redid her work before finally handing the now non-functional weapon to Agent McGee.

"I'll want that back as soon as you're done with it, and don't even think about taking it apart," she warned.

"Yes ma'am," the agent responded on instinct, just like a new cadet would.

Gibbs sent his team on their way with instructions to deliver the evidence to Abby and to see what Ducky could come up with from the body. He noticed that the General had tried sending every one of his friends with them as well, but the large African American man had refused to budge and had given his friend one raised eyebrow and the General had instantly backed down.

"Grace O'Neill shall not leave my sight O'Neill," the man had vowed once all his friends were gone. "I will die before anyone hurts her."

"Thanks T."

"Thank you… Murray."

'T' Murray had bowed his head. "Perhaps you should pack a bag O'Neill and Colonel Carter. I do not believe it to be wise to remain her any longer than necessary."

"Your friend is right," Gibbs reinforced. "You can't stay here tonight."

Sam traded looks with Jack. "I'm willing to bet you don't want us packing up any time soon either, right?"

"No Colonel. Are you moving soon?" he asked curiously.

Again the couple looked at each other, almost carrying out a conversation simply with their eyes. "I'm retiring and we're moving back to Colorado. Sam is getting a promotion and a command out there," Jack finally explained.

"Could this not be the reason behind the attack O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"What do you mean Mister…," Gibbs asked.

"Would it not be easier to remove young Grace from her home here rather than in Colorado where you have many friends and family who would notice her absence quickly?" Teal'c pointed out while adeptly avoiding the man's question.

Gibbs studied the couple carefully, wondering they would have to say about this.

"We have the President on our side here though," Sam pointed out, clutching Grace to her body.

"Still, something to keep in mind," Gibbs stated, really wanting to get everyone away from here as quickly as possible. It was days like this that he wished Kate were still alive because her Secret Service experience would be helpful in situations like this one. "I'd like to get you guys out of here and some place secure as quickly as possible."

The General looked ready to argue, but his wife beat him to it.

"If you think I'm- we're going to sit back and do nothing while our daughter's life is in danger, you've got another thing coming Agent Gibbs!" She stated, looking quite ferocious standing there holding a baby.

"Ma'am-"

"Sam-"

"Colonel Carter-"

The three men in the room looked at each other when they realized they had all spoken at the same time.

"We'll discuss this later," Jack said, putting an end to the conversation for now. "Pack," he ordered.

Judging by the look on the Colonel's face, this was one conversation Gibbs did not want to be present for. But if he were a betting man, he would be betting that the Colonel would be on the winning side.

Gibbs had figured that they would be out the door in ten minutes, twenty at the most, but he had forgotten how long it took to get ready to go anywhere when there was a baby involved. The two adults had been packed within minutes, but then the Colonel had disappeared into her office and shut the door. Several times Gibbs thought he saw a bright light emanate from under the door, but he figured it just had to be her doing something with the equipment.

An hour and a half later, Gibbs was seated in the back of the General's limousine. Surprisingly, the couple had handed over their baby to the large man now sitting next to Gibbs and was now talking on their cell phones, despite the fact it was currently the wee hours of the morning. Their conversations took the entire length of the trip to NCIS headquarters. And they weren't your normal, run of the mill conversations that these two people were having.

The words 'President' and something called the 'Stargate', and the names of various other higher-ups were tossed around like rag dolls.

Sam's conversation ended first, making it easier for Gibbs to listen to Jack's conversation.

"Yes ma'am. Of course ma'am. I'll do that ma'am. It is a very good incentive ma'am, trust me. Thank you. You too Mrs. President," Jack finished. "So?" he asked his wife.

"Landry's called in the big guns. It sounded like he almost had a war on his hands with everyone fighting over coming out here to help in the investigation. He finally settled on Dixon and Reynolds's teams, and Ferretti is making the trip as well. They'll be at your office tomorrow morning. If we need more support at any time, we can have it in less than an hour if you'll authorize the use of… alternative transportation."

"The President has authorized full disclosure," Jack informed everyone. "And I think we should move the headquarters of our operation to my office."

"What about Abby and Ducky, my forensic expert and medical examiner?" Gibbs asked, hoping to get out of this move.

"Web cameras on a specially encrypted connection could resolve that. We should probably also post a couple SFs just to be safe," Sam suggested, which received a nod from Jack.

Sensing that if he didn't agree to this he would probably get an order from his director forcing him to agree. "Okay, we'll try it," Gibbs finally said. This way he could change his mind if things weren't working out.

By 0500 hours Gibbs, Ziva, Tony, and McGee found themselves being escorted through the hallways that made up the Pentagon.

By 0600 they were convinced that this particular group of people had lost their mind.

By 0700 they had been to outer space, Colorado Springs, and back- and picked up 9 additional Air Force officers on the way.

At 0800 they had learned about the existence of an Earth outpost on another planet with the arrival of Major Evan Lorne, and a contingent of Marines from some place they called Atlantis, with an assurance that someone named Sheppard would "Lead a munity and bring a Jumper if General O'Neill or Colonel Carter wanted him to".

Gibbs observed with a silent fascination the way the respect and camaraderie of these people crossed the usual boundaries of the two United States Military forces they represented. It made him wonder exactly what the group of them had done to garner such devotion.

He also noticed that none of the O'Neills were ever left alone. After much prodding, the married couple eventually retired to the General's office where an air mattress had been setup for them to sleep on. Grace was left under the watchful eye of the entire room, passed from soldier to soldier as they brainstormed idea after idea as to who might be responsible for the sudden interest in Grace.

The fact that the O'Neills trusted these people with their child spoke volumes to Gibbs about what kind of men and women they were.

They wouldn't blink twice before killing Gibbs and his team if they thought they posed a threat to the child they were protecting.

By the time the O'Neills emerged a few hours later, Gibbs had a lead that was worth mentioning.

"Do any of you know a Jon O'Neill?" he asked, laying the file on the table.

"No."

"Yes."

Gibbs looked from one to the other of the O'Neills. "Well which one is it?" he demanded, looking around the table for someone that could give him answers.

Sam moved and Jack ended up issuing a useless order to her back.

"Check it," he said.

She spoke quietly to someone on her cell phone for several minutes before she gave a shake of her head. "They can't get a fix on his locator beacon," she informed them as she flipped her phone closed.

"Then have them start scanning for his DNA!" Jack ordered.

"I already have. They'll let us know the instant they have a hit," Sam said, projecting confidence she didn't feel into her voice. The fact Jon was missing and this was the first time they had been informed worried her.

None of them had really kept in touch with Jon until he had called one day out of the blue asking for help with a security clearance issue at the Academy.

Sam hadn't even known he was enrolled at the Academy, but had been more than happy to help. A quick call to General Kerrigan had straightened out the issue and given her a little bit more insight into the young man that was Jack O'Neill going through life a second time.

Kerrigan informed her that Jon O'Neill had an uncanny grasp of military strategy and procedures, for a first year cadet. He had chosen to concentrate this time around on sciences and languages. Of course the General didn't use the phrase 'this time around' because he didn't know Jon was really a clone, but Sam was able to fill in that sentiment for herself.

It seemed that while some things changed, others stayed the same. Jon was still a great protector of the innocent, taking other Cadets under his wing, and calling out older ones when he thought they needed taken down a few notches. Kerrigan was careful to admit that he couldn't prove that Jon had been responsible for several 'incidents' that righted potentially difficult situations, but that he, along with others on staff at the Academy, had their suspicions.

Sam made the General promise to keep her informed, as much as a newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel can order a two-star General to do anything. But she had always been one of Kerrigan's favorites, and with promises to try and work a lecture into her increasingly busy schedule, Sam elicited frequent e-mails and an occasional phone call from the man.

But now that she thought about, Sam realized that the last e-mail from Kerrigan had come prior to her command of Atlantis. Briefly, she wondered if he even knew she was back planet-side, and then remembered that he was no longer running the Academy. She vaguely recalled someone telling her at Hammond's funeral that he had retired due to health reasons during her command abroad.

A concerned "Carter" from Jack cut through her thoughts. Sam blinked a couple of times to clear her thoughts and then focused on Jack.

"Sit," he ordered. "What makes you think Jon is involved in this?"

"My team hunted for any possible connection between the Lieutenant that broke into your house and yourselves," Gibbs began, and he noticed the approving look from Jack at his choice of wording. "The only connection they found was that the Lieutenant knew Jon O'Neill. It seems that they both took part in some specialized training last summer that involved work between several different military forces from around the world."

"Probably a pre-SGC evaluation," Jack offered. "It's something we started doing when I took over Home World. We bring together 5 to 10 of the best senior class students from every country involved in the SGC- those that want to send them anyways. Seasoned SGC personnel put them through some exercises to test their ability as possible future members of the SGC right out of our equivalent of the Air Force Academy. Last year was the first time the United States included Marines," Jack added as an afterthought. "If this Lieutenant got invited, he's good."

"Somebody got to him," Reynolds stated.

"The question is who," Gibbs agreed. "And why."

A sickening thought occurred to Sam, one that Jack quickly cut off.

"Don't think it Sam. Jon knows you almost as well as I do. If he thought we were in danger, he would have come himself," Jack pointed out.

"Who is this kid?" Gibbs asked. "Is he related to the General?"

Dixon chuckled. "I guess you could say that. My oldest was under his command at the Academy. He tells the wildest stories, ones that you wouldn't believe unless you knew Jack."

"Like what?" DiNozzo asked.

Teal'c gave the younger man a pointed look, all while holding Grace that clearly indicated it was a question that Tony did not want to know the answer to any longer.

"Never mind," DiNozzo quickly gulped.

"Is there any reason someone would want to have Grace?" Ziva questioned, recalling Sam's earlier comment about testing. "Is there something special about her?"

"Special?" Vala repeated. "You could say that! She's only like the cutest baby ever, and her parents have saved the world more times than any of you can imagine," she claimed pointing her finger at Ziva David while giving a very ineffective stare to the rest of the NCIS team.

Tim McGee cleared his throat. "I think what Ziva meant is what kind of strategic value Grace would have? I mean, she is just a baby, so she can't exactly know anything about the Stargate program…"

Ferretti spoke up. "Before today, you would probably have thought that the best hostage on this planet would have been one of the President's children, right? In truth, it is without a doubt Grace O'Neill. Her parents have the ear of the President, the respect of Earth's biggest allies, and not to mention the majority of the world's best military men and women would follow either of them to hell and back- or already have."

Every head around the table that wasn't from NCIS was nodding in agreement with Ferretti's words.

Suddenly the large TV on the wall switched from a black screen to one of Abby in her lab.

"Gibbs, I've got something!" she exclaimed all excited, seemingly ignoring the fact that she could probably see a room full of military men on her screen.

She let fly with half a dozen technical terms which made absolutely no sense to most of the people in the room before Gibbs cut in.

"Abby!"

"Patience Gibbs, I was just getting to the good part. I traced the dirt under our Marine's fingernails. The composition of dirt is only found a few places on Earth, but all of them are around, get this- Yellowstone National Park."

There was a sudden scramble for the various file folders that were sitting in the middle of the table.

"What are you looking for?" Gibbs questioned.

"A list of property holdings," Daniel explained as he flipped thru the pages of one folder quickly.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"That's classified," Jack said from the doorway.

"I have clearance," Gibbs reminded the man.

"For some stuff, but not for this. Not unless it is absolutely necessary."

"It is."

"I'll make that determination," Jack stated.

"It's my investigation. My murder investigation," Gibbs stressed.

"Carter didn't intend to kill that Marine," Jack quickly shot back.

"He's dead," DiNozzo cut in.

"Yes, but if Sam had wanted him dead, there would have been two bullets in his head. I'm betting your coroner finds that she hit him in the shoulder or knee, right?"

All work in the room had stopped now as people watched the back and forth between the Lieutenant General and NCIS agent.

Gibbs looked to DiNozzo.

"Initial reports put the bullets as having impacted both shoulders boss. Ducky will let us know his findings as soon as he can," DiNozzo confirmed.

Gibbs seemed to consider his next words when Teal'c added his own view.

"I once saw Colonel Carter perforate a swinging cord from a distance of not less than one hundred feet with a single shot. It is not in her nature to kill a man when simply injuring him will suffice."

"If I had wanted him dead, I just would have shot him a third time," Sam announced. "The weapon I was using was designed to deliver a tiny electrical charge with each shot, just like a zat," she explained to her fellow SGC members. "Except one or two shots will stun, three or more should kill."

"Better for close combat?" Lorne hazarded a guess. "You don't have to worry about only hitting someone once like you would with a zat."

"Exactly." Sam agreed.

"I want one," Vala said.

"I just have a couple prototypes right now. They're nowhere near ready for use in the field yet," Sam claimed.

Groans were heard from around the table as the various military personnel lamented the fact that they wouldn't be getting a new toy any time soon.

"Is there anyone who could back up your claims?" Gibbs questioned.

"Siler. We actually discussed, designed, and built the prototypes together," Sam informed them.

"McGee- talk to this Siler and make sure this gun does what Colonel Carter says it does," Gibbs ordered. "No offense Colonel," he assured her.

"None taken," Sam responded.

Given that show was over, the men, and Vala, seated around the table returned to sorting through the stacks of folders, still trying to find the elusive property record that Gibbs hoped would clear this mystery up.

Ten cups of coffee and one bottle later, Captain Brian Johnson let loose a fist pump. "Got it!"

There was a scurry to be the first one there to put their hands on the sheet of paper, and Gibbs didn't fail to notice that his route was effectively blocked by Teal'c.

Daniel examined the record, scanning for the piece of property that he knew was there.

"It's Ba'al, isn't it?" Sam asked softly, fighting her sudden urge to go over and sweep Grace from Jack's arm, so that she could have someone to hold onto, something so that she wouldn't have to look at Jack.

"Who's Ball?" asked DiNozzo, not recognizing the name.

"A Goa'uld," Jack stated, his eyes never looking anywhere but at his daughter.

Gibbs noticed how everyone in the room had grown quiet. There was something going on here that this secretive group wasn't telling him, and judging by their reaction when O'Neill had spoken, it had something to do with the General and this Ball character.

"He's dead, right?" Jack asked, suddenly looking up but only at Sam briefly before returning to study his daughter.

"Yes," Sam assured her husband.

"Without a doubt," Daniel added.

"We saw him die," Cam assured him.

"Ba'al is as deceased as an entryway attachment pin," Teal'c stated.

Everyone in the room looked at the large Jaffa.

Jack managed a small chuckle. "I think you mean as dead as a doornail T."

"Is that not what I said O'Neill?"

Jack looked up at his friend and just the barest hint of a smile hung on his lips as he nodded to his friend.

"So it must be someone leftover from his organization," Sam summed up. Her face took on a look of deep concentration. Suddenly she spun and left the room, pulling out her cell phone as she did so.

Everyone looked at Jack as if asking 'What is she thinking?'

Jack shrugged. "Just 'cause I'm married to her doesn't mean that I suddenly understand the way that her brain works!"

Daniel openly smirked while Dixon, Reynolds, and Ferretti chuckled while some of the other members of the military actually worked harder to hide their own amusement. Tony looked at them in shock.

"See what kind of respect I get around here," Jack protested as he turned to Gibbs. "I tell you Gibbs, you get transferred for a year or two and subordinates suddenly forget just how miserable you can make their life!"

The youngest members of the room immediately straightened up but the three team leaders continued to smirk at Jack while Major Lorne had his own version of attempting to show no emotion going on, though it looked like he had probably had plenty of practice learning to hide a grin.

Daniel, Vala, and Cam also didn't seemed to be concerned with the fact that they were openly grinning while Teal'c didn't seem to be giving up anything on his face, but Gibbs thought that for just a second he saw a hint of laughter in the man's eyes. His own team was looking at him with an obvious bewilderment. Gibbs gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

It had to be the fact these people dealt with aliens- his team never acted like this!

Samantha Carter stepped back into the room, closing her cell phone. "They're clones," she stated.

"Clones. That's not possible," McGee protested. "We don't have the technology-"

"Might I remind you that we were on a spaceship this morning Probie?" DiNozzo interrupted. "I'm pretty sure that these guys have a lot of technology that we can only imagine existing."

"You're sure?" Jack asked at the same time that Gibbs asked, "What do you mean they?"

The seriousness in Sam's face was all that Jack needed to see to know that whatever Sam was about to say was the truth.

"The Marine that I shot yesterday and the one who was killed a year ago, the one that you drug me down to NCIS for questioning," Sam explained. "I had Carolyn compare the DNA samples that were taken from their bodies to ones that we had on file from when they joined the service- they were 100% matches."

"Isn't that what we want?" Ziva questioned.

"No. DNA changes just a little bit over time. You get a cold and your DNA gets rewritten in a minute fashion. So the DNA sample taken from the corpse and then compared to the sample from the original service record resulting in a 100% match is extremely unlikely. The samples should have differed by at least a couple tenths of a percent, if not more, given that the samples were separated by at least five years," Sam simplified for them.

"Crap!" Cam spoke, summarizing everyone's thoughts.

Gibbs took all of this in without a second thought. "This is good and all, but that doesn't explain the reason for the attacks. Who were they after Grace or Colonel Carter?"

Silence overtook the room.

"And don't forget why," Jack added.

Sam spoke slowly. "Grace. They had to be after Grace. They can't clone me, remember? Besides even a clone of me wouldn't help them. They'd want someone to work the technology."

"Colonel Carter, I believe you may have overlooked a possibility," Teal'c announced. "They may have been after O'Neill."

Jack's face paled.

Until this point, Gibbs had thought that the room couldn't get any quieter, but at that moment Gibbs was pretty sure that he could hear Grace breathing. Everyone else was watching the General, waiting to see what he would do.

Jack's features darkened. "I'm issuing a total recall of all teams and a lock down until further notice," he stated, picking up his phone to give the official orders. He placed his back to the door and gazed at the room, waiting to see if his new orders would garner an unfavorable reaction from anyone in the room. The only reaction he got was from Sam who stepped forward and took their daughter into her own arms and Teal'c who took up a position next to her as a force to be reckoned with if anyone wanted to get near either of the O'Neill women.

A few words quietly spoken into his cell phone, and Jack's orders had been given.

"What do we need to do to confirm everyone's identities?" Jack asked his wife while studying everyone in the room carefully.

"Compare DNA samples of everyone involved in the program to those that are on file. Anyone's who doesn't differ by at least 2 tenths of a percent should be placed under guard and questioned," Carter responded.

"Sir," Lorne spoke suddenly, interrupting the quiet of the room. "I'd suggest clearing Atlantis first. Most people haven't had the opportunity to go off base yet, and it would give us a secure location to work from," he suggested.

"Do it." O'Neill ordered looking at his wife and nodding.

With one arm she cradled Grace and with the other she tapped the communication device in her ear and began issuing orders to get her connected to Atlantis. Minutes later in a beam of light, Vala vanished, on her way to Atlantis to help sort out any possible clones from all of the people there. Meanwhile, the same thing was taking place on the Phoenix and at the SGC.

Within the hour, enough of the Atlantis personnel had been cleared that those in the General's conference room were beamed to the city that now rested off the coast of California.

John Sheppard ushered the group off to the infirmary where everyone was put through the necessary tests, all of which thankfully came back clear.

Ronon took up a post in front of the infirmary while Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard escorted everyone to the conference room, going directly through the gate room, and offering a short tour to the newcomers and NCIS personnel as he did so.

They paused in the gateroom.

"And this is the Stargate," Sheppard stated.

"That is what you use to travel to other planets?" Ziva questioned.

"Yes."

"Guys, this is like something out of that latest Wormhole Extreme movie!" Tony exclaimed.

The members of SG-1 shared carefully controlled chuckled.

"What a coincidence, huh?" Ferretti couldn't stop himself from asking, even though he knew he shouldn't.

"Oh come on Colonel, you can't tell me that the government didn't have something to do with that show. It's too similar for it to just be a coincidence," Tony protested.

The members of SG-1 shared various grins and glances.

"Agent DiNozzo, some things are classified even beyond your security clearance," Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell finally stated.

"But I thought I- I mean we had just been granted the highest security clearance available," Tony reminded the group.

"Yes, but something things, like File 30185 are classified- even to you," Mitchell stated, gaining a chuckle from the members of SG-1 who remembered exactly when they had tried to 'punk' him by claiming that Mitchell was General O'Neill's son, fathered during SG-1's trip back in time to 1969.

"Let's stick with what you can tell us," Agent Gibbs requested in a slightly disproving tone. "The facts."

"We have an unknown number of clones on Earth, possibly programmed to do some real damage to the SGC, the O'Neills, or who knows what else," Ferretti stated.

"So basically," Tony rephrased, "We don't know much at all."

"Pretty much."

Gibbs turned his stare on his Agents and the other officers standing there. "Then what are you waiting for?" he demanded. "Get to work!"

The NCIS agents made themselves scarce, quickly followed by the Stargate personnel.

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs permitted himself a small smile, before hiding it as he took another sip from his coffee cup.

This was definitely going to be an interesting case.


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile, in room not too far away, with some imposing SFs, and one large Jaffa posted outside the door, Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill, and Grace had holed up in Sam's old quarters.

It seemed that Richard Woolsey had been given different quarters upon his arrival in Atlantis, and Colonel Carter's quarters had remained vacant.

Sam liked to think it was because her people believed that she would return to them again.

Jack thought it was because the military contingent of Atlantis (namely Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and Major Evan Lorne) wanted to stick it Woolsey.

Not that there were many people who felt that way now. It had taken time, more time then what it had taken Sam, for Richard Woolsey to earn the respect of the people of Atlantis.

But he had done it.

Now though, all of Atlantis was literally at the beck and call of the O'Neill family, once more behind their former leader and the man who always had their back.

Jack and Sam lounged on a couch; Grace snuggled safely in the arms of her mother, thankfully asleep.

"You know that I want you to stay here, where you're safe, right?" Jack began by stating the obvious.

"Of course I do, I'm a genius, remember?" Sam joked.

"How could I forget?" Jack quipped.

"And since I'm so smart, you're going to listen to me what I say I need to be there when this goes down," Samantha told him.

"Sam," Jack started to say.

"Don't," Sam interrupted her husband. "I know that you probably have a million reasons why you think I shouldn't go on this mission but I-"

"Carter," Jack said, cutting her off. "You can go. I won't stop you."

"Really?" Sam questioned, surprised by his decision.

"I know I could order you to stay here," Jack began. "But it probably wouldn't do me any good. The minute I married you, probably even the minute that I became involved with you as more than a commanding officer and a second in command, I gave up any opportunity I had to give you orders. I didn't get involved in sending you to Atlantis, so I can't really get involved and start giving you orders now. No," he said, shaking his head. "You are my wife first and foremost. And if you feel the need to go out there and fight aliens to protect our daughter, and our family, I won't be the one to stop you. I understand totally."

Sam bit her lip and tried to hold back the sudden urge to cry. "Thank you," she whispered to her husband, reaching out to cover his hand with her own as a physical way of saying thank you.

"Just come back to me," he requested. "To us," he quickly corrected himself after a short pause which was filled with little baby noises from their daughter.

"I will," Sam promised.

Silence filled the room.

"What do you think happened to Jon?" Sam finally asked.

"I have no idea," Jack admitted. "I hope he's okay though."

It went unstated that if he hadn't been found by now, there was next to no chance that he ever would be. There were just too many planets for someone to hide him in this galaxy or another one if they wanted to.

"Could he possibly still be on Earth?" Jack questioned, distracting his wife from all the horrible thoughts that had to currently be flooding her mind with regards to Jon's fate.

"I suppose," Sam said. "If he's dead, there's always the chance that he might not ever be found. There are ways of… disposing of a body that would leave such a minute trace of DNA that not even the Asgard sensors could find it."

"Let's just focus on ways he could be here and alive," Jack requested, shuddering at the various ghastly images that now flooded his mind.

"The sensors on the Hammond didn't find a single trace of him," Sam stated.

"But there are ways to hide from the sensors," Jack reminded her. "Couldn't they, block them somehow?"

"Sure, but that requires such large amounts of energy that someone surely would have noticed it by now," Sam stated.

"How much energy?" Jack questioned.

"Like powering a Stargate type energy requirements," Sam stated after doing a few calculations in her head. "And all of our naquadah generators are accounted for, I had Siler check. The only other possibility is that someone built their own, but even that would require large amounts of naquadah, which I'm not sure even Ba'al could have gotten his hands on. Besides that, there are the technical requirements for building a naquadah generator. It's not exactly like you can pick someone up off the street and have them just build something like that. You need a certain amount of technical expertise."

"So if they build a naquadah generator, it had to be someone with a scientific background," Jack clarified.

"Even that probably wouldn't be enough," Sam admitted. "They would have had to of worked within the Stargate Program at some point during their career."

Jack pulled out his smart phone and began typing out an e-mail. "What else? I'll have Davis run a search against whatever we come up with."

Sam shook her head. "The list will be huge Jack. Until you include everyone that has at some point come into contact with the Stargate Program, you're talking about thousands of people."

"It will give us some place to start though. We can always hand it off to the people from NCIS," Jack speculated with a boyish grin on his face.

"Jack!" Sam protested with an attempt at a reproving glare. "They've been very helpful."

"I wouldn't consider making you a suspect in a homicide helpful," Jack claimed.

"I did shoot him," Sam reminded him.

"In self defense!" Jack protested a little too loudly because Grace stirred a little bit before Sam cuddled her close, putting her right back to the land of dreams once more.

Jack lowered his voice before continuing. "It's just, I don't like the idea of letting someone from the outside in on our secrets to help us solve a problem that we could do on our own."

"It is better than letting the NID take over," Sam reminded him. "At least Agent Gibbs seems willing to let us assist as equals."

"True," Jack sighed in agreement. He tightened his arm around his wife and daughter, and sat there, enjoying this private moment with his family.

Their private moment did not last very long before the door chimed, announcing the presence of a visitor outside. Jack groaned, wondering who could be outside the door waiting to bother him. He maneuvered himself off of the couch to the door and palmed it open to reveal the aforementioned Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"What can I do for you Mr. Gibbs?" Jack asked.

"Special Agent," Gibbs corrected the General, trying not to let the man get on his nerves. Something about the man made him think that he knew just how to tick people off, and he did on purpose for his own amusement. Gibbs had done the same thing many a time, only his reason was for keeping the situation under his own control. "And I'm here to brief you and Colonel, is it Carter or O'Neill?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at the General.

"Carter," Jack stated, refusing to let this man think that something like Sam having not changed her last name to match his own, actually bothered him.

Because it didn't.

Not really.

He had Samantha Carter in his life, she wore his ring on her finger, at least when regulations allowed, and she was the mother of his child. Anything beyond all of that was just extra.

Jack stepped to the side to allow Special Agent Gibbs entrance to their quarters. Teal'c looked at him questioningly, raising an eyebrow, silently asking if he should also enter the room. Jack silently shook his head in the negative and followed the NCIS agent back to the living room area of Sam's former quarters. He dropped lightly onto the couch next to his wife while Gibbs perched on a chair across from them.

"What information do you have for us Agent Gibbs?" Sam asked politely.

Gibbs cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm more interested in what kind of information you have for me. The little details that you've left out that are going to come back to bite us all in the… behind before this is all over."

Jack opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Sam rested a hand on his arm.

Sam shifted their daughter in her arms, cuddling her closer. "What makes you think that we haven't told you everything that you need to know?" She questioned.

Gibbs took his time answering the question, using a sip from his coffee cup to buy himself some time. "Ma'am, no one ever tells us everything. It doesn't matter whether you are innocent or guilty; no one ever tells me everything."

"So what do you want from us?" Sam asked calmly. "You obviously believe that we aren't going to tell you everything, so what do you expect us to do?"

"Tell me what you think I need to know now."

"Or?" Jack pushed.

"Or, you're up front with me when the time comes that I need to know more. Most importantly, you're not going to endanger my people by not giving me enough information to work from," Gibbs stated evenly.

"I promise you Gibbs, if there is something you need to know, I'll tell you," Jack told the man.

Gibbs looked at him, studying him. It was obvious he was trying to gage the truthfulness of Jack's statement.

"Trust me," Jack said.

"Trust us," Sam further added.

"I guess I'll have to," Gibbs reluctantly agreed.

The door chimed again.

Jack walked Gibbs to the door. He opened the door to reveal Cameron Mitchell standing there.

"What do you have for us Mitchell?" Jack asked.

"Daniel has a theory," Mitchell began.

"Well what is it?" Gibbs asked.

Mitchell looked questioningly at Gibbs, as if unsure if he should reveal the information in front of the man.

"Go on," Jack ordered.

"Jackson thinks that some of Ba'al's people are still on Earth. He thinks they've taken up residence at one of Ba'al's old cooperation holdings, one that we or the NID must have missed during the cleanup. It is close to Yellow Stone National Park which would explain the dirt that the Goth girl found on the dead Marine's clothing."

"Goth girl?" Gibbs interrupted. "Goth girl has a name and it's Abby. I suggest that you learn to use it. Quickly." he said with an uncontrolled note of threat to his voice.

Slightly taken back with Gibb's forwardness, Mitchell looked slightly ashamed, half way caught between apologizing and defending himself when Jack took the choice away from him.

"Where's everyone at?" Jack asked, sensing the need to go somewhere and do something right now.

Anything to do with Ba'al carried extra weight with him, and now that he knew his daughter- and wife- were safe, he was free to focus his attention on catching the person, or people, he reminded himself that wanted to hurt his family.

This was personal, more personal than it had been in a long while.

Teal'c raised his eyebrows at Jack, questioning what he was thinking of doing now.

"I think we need to get together and have one of those extreme brainstorming sessions where we let the geeks go to work and come up with some out there theory that actually works and save us all from utter destruction," Jack stated.

"Just like old times," Mitchell elaborated with a slight smile on his face.

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at the man.

"I mean with SG-1. We've never had one of those extreme brainstorming sessions since you left General. I just must not quite have your brilliance sir," Mitchell babbled.

The corner's of Jack's eyes started to turn up in an almost smile. He patted the younger man on the shoulder. "Good save _son,_" he emphasized the word. "Go round everyone up and we'll meet in the cafeteria. This type of thinking requires a full stomach," he decided.

Mitchell barely refrained from saluting, which was something that Gibbs had noted was not part of the routine on this base when military personnel were dismissed or even passed each other. It was polite nods or smiles, even an occasional wave. The whole base radiated a relaxed alertness, if the oxymoron was possible.

Teal'c waited until Mitchell was out of sight.

"Is the cafeteria serving pie today O'Neill?" Teal'c questioned his good friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Now why would you think that Teal'c?" Jack questioned his friend.

"I have noticed your fondness for confectionary items over the years O'Neill," Teal'c stated. "I believe Colonel Carter would remind you that continued consumption of such items would not be beneficial for your expanding waist line."

"Hey!" Jack objected, looking at his friend. "I can still run circles around most of the new recruits," he reminded his friend. "And I haven't put on that much weight," he stated, patting his stomach, which was truly only slightly larger than it had been ten years ago. Being in Washington D.C. had caused him to put on a few pounds, but not that many compared with many of the generals and other political leaders.

"I believe Colonel Carter was concerned with your ability to not squash young Grace when you 'babysit' her O'Neill," Teal'c stated in his monotone voice.

Jack stopped and looked at his friend. "You do know," he said slowly, "That babysitting does not mean that you sit on the baby, right Teal'c?"

"It does not?" Teal'c asked innocently, or as innocently as a 100 plus year old former First Prime Jaffa could.

"Remind me not to ask you to babysit Grace until she's old enough to defend herself," Jack stated with a hint of laughter to his voice. "C'mon, let me grab Carter and Grace and we'll go see if we can find a snack, a healthy snack," he quickly corrected as he saw Teal'c eyebrows start to rise in protest.


	10. Chapter 10

Hours later, the cafeteria had been abandoned in favor of a real conference room. Theories had been tossed around, inquiries conducted, questioned asked, and questions answered, and all of it resulted in a plan being made.

A search through records had resulted in the discovery of previously unexplored holdings from Ba'al's time on Earth.

Unsurprisingly, at least after Daniel's revelation, they were located relatively close to Yellowstone National Park.

The Odyssey's scanners were unable to gain any information about the location where a building was _supposed_ to be, leading Sam to theorize that someone really must have constructed a naquadah generator to power some stolen Ancient or Goa'uld technology which was blocking the Odyssey's scanners. She even spent some time aboard the ship trying to fine tune the scanners and get a better read on the area, but was unable to achieve noticeable results that concerned them.

On the other hand, they now could capture some really good pictures of Jupiter without leaving Earth's orbit.

Still, Jack had spoken his reluctance about sending people in blind to such a situation.

"I don't like this," Jack said for what felt like the 100th time.

Groans could be heard around the conference room. They had heard him say this for what felt like one hundred times this afternoon.

"I think General, we can all agree that we don't have any other options. It's not like we can call up the SWAT team to take care of things," Gibbs reminded him again, in what was quickly becoming a circular discussion.

They would discuss some aspect of the plan for a while before returning to the whole idea of the team being sent in without any prior information. They didn't even have schematics of the structure they were entering. Contact with the outside was also questionable, leaving whoever went in unreachable until the shield or whatever was blocking electronic surveillance equipment was turned off.

"Jack," Sam finally said, being really the only one in the room besides Teal'c or Daniel who could talk him down, and the only one who really would. Daniel was smart enough to not try it because he would only end up angering Jack. "I know that this isn't the most desirable situation, we've heard you say it a hundred times if we've heard you say it once, but we can't not go just because we don't have any insight into the situation. Somebody has to stop whatever is going on there and the only other group we could send would be the NID, and they're the last ones I would trust," she reminded him.

Jack was silent for a while. "You know Carter, you used a double negative there."

Snorts and chuckles were heard all around the room, while Sam just shook her head in disbelief.

"Fine, let's run it one more time, and then I'll go convince the President to give her a-okay to the mission," Jack stated.

"We'll start by having the Odyssey beam a couple of scouts to a nearby overlook where we can do some informal observations, see what kinds of visible defenses they have, etc." Mitchell began.

"Depending on what they find, we'll pick a viable location to have the rest of the strike team beamed to, while the scout team will remain where they are, keeping an eye on things, and hopefully being able to offer information to the strike team once the team enters the actual compound," Daniel picked up. "If nothing else, they will serve as the on the ground contact to the Odyssey and Atlantis, keeping everyone there up to date on what is going on inside the compound as much as possible."

"Meanwhile, the strike teams will split up and go after individual objectives," Mitchell continued. "Team Alpha will be lead by Sam and include Teal'c, Special Agent Gibbs, Reynolds, and his team. Their primary objective is to locate and destroy whatever 'doohickey' is being used to keep the compound blind to outside observers. Team Beta will be lead by Sheppard, and include Ronnon, Daniel, Special Agent DiNozzo, and McKay. Their primary objective is to locate Jon O'Neill and any other captives being held. Team Charlie will be lead by me and include Ziva and SG-2. We're going to provide back-up if," here he emphasized the word if, as Jack had previously done throughout their discussions and planning session, "It is necessary. Otherwise, we're going to nose around and see what all they're up to down there."

"Do we have a go sir?" Sam asked, looking at her husband for confirmation and eyes that clearly said he had better respond correctly- or else.

"You have a go," Jack responded. "Get those scouts down there for observation, while I get the official permission from the President to override any government, state, or local agency that might have a problem with us taking over the 'investigation'. What is our cover story again?"

"Joint investigation between the Air Force and NCIS, that's Naval Criminal Investigative Services," Special Agent Tony DiNozzo reminded the Air Force General.

"And we are investigating the possibility of illegally imported arms," Ziva David stated, cutting Tony off from making any of his patent wisecracks.

Gibbs just hefted his cup of coffee in the air, as though offering a toast to the General and took a sip, letting his people speak for themselves and for him.

"In the meantime, might I suggest everyone who isn't conducting surveillance get some shut eye. We'll let the surveillance people get a feel for things and relay information back, and then most likely ship out before dawn tomorrow," Jack decided. "No complaints," he warned looking at Daniel, "And no going off to your labs," he further advised glancing at both his wife and Doctor Rodney McKay. "Get some sleep. We've all been up long enough and I want everyone to be at their best for this mission." He stood up, which of course made everyone else stand up, and gave his final word, "Dismissed."

Many of the personnel quickly left the room, retreating to their quarters to get some of the suggested sleep while Major Lorne's team went to gear up for surveillance duty. Sheppard even found a poor lieutenant to lead off one half of the NCIS team, McGee having already followed Lorne's team as he was going to be part of setting up the surveillance station. It seemed that his prowess with computers and other doohickeys had deemed good enough to handle the situation by Sam, and whatever Sam said went, at least in the technical department of this mission- and probably any other mission too.

"I just don't get it," Tony stated as they followed the lieutenant to their quarters.

"Get what?" Ziva questioned.

"Why would Colonel Carter have married someone who looks like him?" Tony asked.

Ziva stared at Tony; barely catching the questioning looks they were getting from Marine Corps Lieutenant assigned to escort them to their assigned quarters. She quickly slapped him on the arm. "Do you think that it could be because she sees more to him than just the gray hair?" she asked.

"Well she's hot… and he's not," Tony said like it was the most well known fact in the universe.

"Looks don't have everything to do with a relationship, Tony," Ziva reminded.

"Sometimes people marry for money too," Tony admitted with a shrug.

"I don't imagine that a couple of Air Force officers are that rich," Ziva said. "Besides that wasn't what I was talking about. Maybe there's something else to their relationship. Maybe she sees him differently than you do. Think about it, they have the ultimate love story for people in the military. They fought side by side for years. From the sounds of things, they've looked death in the face more times than you could possibly imagine."

"It can't be that dramatic," Tony claimed with an air knowledge.

"Have you been listening to what everyone has been telling us Tony?" Ziva asked in disbelief of her colleague's lack of perception of the seriousness of the situation.

"What do you think Lieutenant?" Tony asked, attempting to get someone else on his side.

"I've only heard the stories sir," the Lieutenant began tentatively, "But they have saved the planet multiple times."

"What kinds of stories have you heard Lieutenant?" Ziva asked drawing the young man in with her most charming smile.

The lieutenant cleared his throat. "Supposedly, Colonel Carter blew up a sun and all of SG-1 rode an asteroid through Earth at one point."

"Oh come on! That sounds unbelievable," Tony claimed.

"So did traveling to other planets and beaming technology. Yesterday," Ziva reminded him.

"Here is your room ma'am," the Lieutenant stated waving his hand in front of scanner which opened the door.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Good night Tony," Ziva said stepping into the room and the door slid shut behind here.

Tony and the Lieutenant arrived in front of another room.

"Thank you Lieutenant," Tony said after the man waved a hand in front of the scanner. He went to step into the room, only to be stopped by an arm across the door frame. He turned to look at the young man.

"One piece of advice Special Agent DiNozzo, don't mess with Colonel Carter or General O'Neill," the man stated.

"Why, will I have the whole Air Force and Marine Corps hunting me down?" Tony asked, joking.

"No," the Lieutenant looked at him seriously. "But you won't like what either the Colonel or the General do to you. They didn't survive eight plus years on the front line team at the most dangerous base on the planet on their looks alone." He gave DiNozzo a respectful nod, executed a military perfect 180 degree turn, and strode down the hallway and out of sight, leaving a slightly bewildered Special Agent Tony DiNozzo behind.

Meanwhile, back in the conference room, the room was now clear except for Jack, Sam, and Gibbs.

And Grace, of course. The little girl had hardly made a fuss through the marathon planning session, and even now she was sleeping in her mother's arms.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Gibbs stated, staring Jack down.

Jack took a deep breath and braved a glance at his wife and daughter. Sam graced him with a half smile, all in the intent of calming him down, Jack was sure. She'd been doing it for years before they were married, covertly of course, but ever since they had gotten married, she had no problem showing him affection and giving him a smile when she sensed that he needed it the most.

"Me too," Jack finally said after what felt like eternity, but probably was only a few seconds. "Me too."

Gibbs considered the General's words before speaking again. "I need to speak with my Director and let her know that my team and I will be out of contact for a while," he claimed.

"Agent Gibbs, don't forget to reassure your forensic scientists that we haven't let you get kidnapped by aliens too," Sam added with a smile of her own for the man who was almost as difficult to read as Jack was, which was probably why Sam could find the cracks in his façade so easily.

"Of course ma'am," Gibbs promised rising as Jack did.

"Why don't you let me take Grace and you can get some sleep?" Jack suggested softly to his wife. He leaned down and brushed a couple of fingers across the downy hair of their daughter.

"Okay," Sam responded softly, giving their daughter a kiss on the forehead and seamlessly transferring her to Jack's waiting arms. She stood up, stretching out her arms which had started to fall asleep from holding Grace for so long.

"Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite," Jack whispered just before he kissed Sam on the forehead and gave her a little push towards the door.

"Be nice to the President," Sam reminded her husband with a poignant look and one last smile as she left the room.

"Aren't I always?" Jack called after her. He could hear her giggle fade as she walked away.

Gibbs observed this whole exchange with his usual silence, and honestly Jack almost forgot that he was there until he spoke. "Why is this Jon O'Neill so important?"

"Huh?"

"Is he your son, brother, long lost cousin, or whatever? But why is he so important that you would mobilize half of what appears to be Earth's best military resources to find him?" Gibbs probed.

Jack weighed his words and his options carefully. He could lie or he could tell the truth.

The truth won out.

He checked to make sure the doors were closed and the room was empty, and silently sent a command to Atlantis that the doors should remain that way until he said otherwise. "Truthfully, he's my clone. Several years ago one of our allies tried to make a clone of me, but something went wrong. Instead of turning out to be an exact copy, he looked like he was sixteen years old. Imagine, being a sixteen year old with all the memories and experience of everything you've done in your life. He couldn't be Jack O'Neill, Colonel, United States Air Force, so he became Jon O'Neill, high school student. He eventually made the decision to attend the Air Force Academy and became a standout student there. We don't 'talk' for obvious reasons, but he's made it clear that his goal is to get back into the Stargate Program and go through the gate again. He is well on his way to doing that, until now when he's literally disappeared."

"So we're going after him just because he knows everything that you know, or I guess knew five years ago?" Gibbs rephrased.

"Yep."

"Okay."

The two men departed to contact their respective superiors, with Grace O'Neill in tow.


	11. Chapter 11

Two hours before dawn found the insertion teams going over the limited information that the surveillance team had been able to garner them.

DiNozzo summed it up quite well. "So no guards, no visible defenses, and nothing that looks like this is going to be anything less than a cakewalk? We're doomed."

Everyone looked at the agent suspiciously.

"What, haven't you seen the movies?" he asked. "Everything sounds so good to start with, and then everyone ends up dying."

Gibbs reached over and slapped the young man in the back of the head. "Shut up DiNozzo. If these people are still alive after battling aliens for ten plus years, I'm willing to follow their lead on this one. You'll do the same."

"Yes sir," Tony wisely responded, keeping his mouth shut.

"Gear up and be in the gate room for beam up in twenty," Jack ordered, cutting off any further statements.

The room quickly cleared and nineteen minutes later, all of the strike team was in the gate room geared up and ready to go.

Gibbs had to agree that it was an imposing group. They were all dressed in black uniforms, and carried multiple weapons, some of them obviously not originally from Earth.

In one corner of the room, Gibbs watched as the O'Neills said their good-byes. There was a small kiss exchanged, and another one given to their daughter who was safely ensconced in her father's arms.

Gibbs stepped closer to General O'Neill as Sam moved away, doing last minute checks with her team.

"Watch out for her Gibbs," Jack requested.

"I'll have her six the whole way," Gibbs promised.

"Beam up in five," someone called from the control deck.

Five seconds later, white light engulfed them and they were gone, leaving behind one Air Force General and one very cute baby girl.

SG1SG1SG1

Team Alpha followed Colonel Carter and her 'energy search doohickey' to find the location of the naquadah generator. It took about five minutes, which seemed to last a lifetime as the snuck from one location to the next, not seeing a single soul.

They maintained radio silence until after they turned the generator off and the Odyssey had the opportunity to scan the place, locating the cells that held the prisoners.

Strangely, no one else could be found.

The three teams rushed to the cells and what they found there shocked them.

And sent them calling for an emergency beam down of medical support teams.

"It looks like they've been left alone for quite some time," Sheppard stated as the various prisoners were being attended to, sipping water, and being reassured that they were safe, someone had found them.

He watched Colonel Carter treat the youngest of the prisoners.

"You'll be fine Jon," she told him, as she helped him sit up and sip water from her canteen.

"Carter," he whispered weakly. "I knew you'd figure it out, that you'd come for me."

"I'm sorry it took so long Jon," Carter apologized. "I should have done a better job of keeping in touch with you."

"Yeah, that would have been nice, Major."

Sam traded worried looks with Daniel who was crouched on the other side of the young man.

"Help is on the way Jon, don't you dare give up on me now," Sam pleaded as the young man fought to maintain consciousness.

"I love you Sam. I can't believe I waited to tell you. We could have had so many years together," Jon O'Neill babbled. "Instead you're with someone else."

"I love you too Jon. Hold on just a little bit longer, help is coming," Sam begged.

"I don't think I can Sam. I'm sorry that they came after you. I hope they didn't hurt you. They wanted information, I didn't give in…. I didn't give in," he cried, pleading with her to understand.

"I know, I know," Sam assured him, clutching his hand, and trying to stay calm, but in her head this man was fading back and forth between her husband and the young man that he actually was. She fought back the tears. "You did fine Colonel. No one could have asked for any more from you."

Jon's turned to look at Teal'c, seeking his permission for what he was about to do.

"You have served your planet well O'Neill," Teal'c spoke. "Rest in peace now."

Jon O'Neill took another raspy breath and looked to Doctor Daniel Jackson.

"Jon- Jack, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud to call you my friend, and brother," Daniel said with the conviction of a man who had said good-bye much too often in his life.

"I couldn't… have asked… for a bet-ter… family, 'luv yo—u," Jon managed to get out before his eyes rolled back in his head, and his breathing stopped.

None of the three of them made the move to start CPR, instead choosing to just let him go.

"I want to know who did this," Sam declared, the tears she had shed suddenly gone. Her face became that of a warrior who wanted to take revenge for a brother or a husband who had died in battle.

"Considering who Jon was in relation to her husband, her declaration probably isn't too far off," John Sheppard thought to himself.

Seconds later white light filled the room, and medical personnel arrived. Yet it was too late for Jon, he was already dead. The medical personnel attended to the various other military personnel who were needed in of assistance.

They spouted off words like "Dehydration", "Malnourished," and "Lack of food".

It was evident that no one was in quite as bad of shape as Jon, but it would still take some time to unravel what had gone on in the last year or so. Eventually the truth would come out.

Everyone was transported back to Atlantis except for a small group of Airmen and Marines left to secure the facility before the scientists would move in and try to discover what had been going on in the various buildings.

The former prisoners were scanned by the various medical technologies left behind the Ancients.

Doctor Keller refused to let anyone question the former prisoners, insisting that they needed time to regain their strength. "When they are up for questioning, I'll let you know," she stated plainly wielding a rather large needle in her hand.

It was either the needle or the fact Keller posted Ronon at the infirmary door that convinced the NCIS team they could wait.

Meanwhile Sam was experiencing her own emotional problems. She had just watched a young man who looked so much like her husband die. Her head told her that her husband was fine, but her heart kept whispering the words 'He's gone, he's gone, you'll never see him again'.

Teal'c remained by her side as they waited for the doctors to complete the post-mission physicals.

"O'Neill will be here shortly, Colonel Carter. Do not confuse Jon O'Neill with O'Neill, they are different men. Jon O'Neill died to protect the family he wished to have while O'Neill lives to be with the one he has always wanted," Teal'c stated.

Jack pulled back the curtain around Sam's bed, and for the first time since they had begun a relationship, Sam ignored military protocol and ran into her husband's arms.

Jack wasn't quite sure what to do, much less what was going on. He had only now returned from his own mission, providing cover to the ground forces as a sniper at the surveillance and communication location setup at the beginning of the mission.

Silently, he wondered who had died to send Sam into such an emotional state. Heck, even Jacob's death hadn't brought this much grief out right away, it had taken several weeks for her to reach this state.

Still, he did what every good military officer did when they didn't know what was going on, followed the lead of someone else, which in this case meant wrapping his arms around his wife and holding her close.

Across the room another conversation took place.

"Do you understand it now?" Ziva asked Tony as they watched the couple embrace.

"Understand what?" Tony asked.

"Do you understand now what Colonel Carter sees in General O'Neill?" Ziva clarified for Tony.

"What does she see in the General?" Tony asked.

"He's more than just a good looking man," Ziva began.

"You think he's good looking?" Tony questioned.

"The silver hair," Abby stated. "Not really my type, but still… it makes for a darn good looking man."

"Do you too think it is comparable to a fairy tale love story?" Ziva requested of Abby.

"Huh?" Tony questioned.

"Tony, two people work together for years, face death side by side, and end up falling in love and getting married. It even touches me," Abby concluded, nodding in agreement with Ziva's opinion.

"I think they were truly meant to be," Ziva decided.


	12. Chapter 12

Epilogue

Two weeks later, Colonel Doctor Samantha Carter took command of Stargate Command, reporting directly to Major General Hank Landry, the new Director of Homeworld Security. Her husband, newly retired Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill helped the President pin the new stars to her uniform, officially promoting her to Brigadier General.

The ceremony took place in the gate room of the SGC, and was broadcast to Atlantis because it was impossible for everyone to who wanted to be there for the momentous occasion to actually attend.

Grace O'Neill was the youngest human in attendance, watching comfortably from the arms of her Uncle Teal'c, while the oldest being there was Bra'tac, representing the newly formed Jaffa Free Nation.

In the back corner of the room was a special group of guests, the team from NCIS who had been there the previous day to officially wrap up their case and had received an invitation to attend the ceremony.

/Flashback/

"As far as our doctors can determine," Daniel stated, "The hostages recovered had all been replaced by clones, with exception of Jon O'Neill, for obvious reasons."

Jack cleared his throat, reminding Daniel that the NCIS team wasn't cleared to know that piece of information.

"Which we cannot share," Daniel quickly stated. "It seems all of the clones were programmed to gather information and report back to their hideout and leader there. This process continued over a period of several years. Every single person who was cloned and replaced was military. We have a complete list from the surviving hostages and have already gathered all the clones together and dealt with them."

"Who was the mastermind of all of this?" DiNozzo finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Daniel looked at Jack who gave the almost imperceptible nod to continue.

Daniel hit a button on the remote and a picture was displayed on the screen. "This is Harold Smith, according to local residents he showed up about five years ago, bought abandoned land and house, fixed it up, and claimed that he was retired and looking to lead a quiet life now. They said he kept to himself, but was pleasant enough when he would come in town for groceries and such. Even went to church every Sunday and was an elder there."

"Oh the irony," Jack lamented with a callous smile. "How hard it must have been for a man who spent over a thousand years portraying a god and being worshiped as one, only to have to spend his last five years of his life pretending to believe in one."

"Huh?"

"That man," Jack said pointing at Harold Smith's picture, "Is Ba'al, one of the former System Lords. Ba'al cloned himself, and we thought we had captured the last one. SG-1 attended his extraction ceremony ourselves. Guess the Tok'ra was wrong again! Imagine that."

"I'm not sure I follow you General O'Neill," Ziva admitted.

"It's like this Ziva," Cam said, turning to plain English for the explanation. "Ba'al is the ultimate bad guy times 1000 and then cloned something like thirty times. We've spent the last few years tracking down and killing all of the clones. We got to what we thought was the last one and attended a very long winded ceremony to official get rid of him. Only now, we find out that he wasn't actually the last clone and that there was one living here on our own planet all this time."

"Ah."

"Shouldn't we be out there looking for him?" Gibbs questioned, but pretty sure that he already knew the answer.

"We thought so too until we started talking to the local residents. Seems that Mr. Smith was involved in a rather tragic car accident on his way to church one Sunday about three weeks ago. His pickup truck collided with the semi-truck that comes to make the weekly gas delivery at the gas station. The sheriff said that he died on impact and burnt to a crisp, in what had to be a rather painful death. They recovered a corpse which upon further examination by our experts, was confirmed to be Ba'al. "

"Wrapping it all up, we've taken care of everything on our end, including gathering up any of the clones there were still out there and who we had hostages for. We gave the hostages a cover story that involved them shipped off to the Middle East and suffering from memory loss," Jack explained.

"I guess this takes care of everything," Gibbs admitted with an accepting nod.

/End Flashback/

Gibbs returned from his musings when President took the podium and began to speak. "When I was first told about what happens at this base that people actually travel to other planets I thought for sure that former President Henry Hayes was trying to pull a joke on me." She paused and smiled to allow for some laughter. "Little did I know it was all true and there was even more to it. I am unbelievably thankful to each and every one of you for the sacrifices you make on behalf of this planet on a daily basis. And you do it all in the utmost of secrecy. Someday when the world is let in on your secret, you will all be acknowledged as the heroes that you truly are. Until then, I all I can say is thank you and ask you to keep up the good work. It is appreciated."

She stepped away from the podium, signally the end to her speech. Applause broke out and the President acknowledged them a slight nod of her head and she paused several times to speak to various people on her way out the door, including each member of SG-1 and the Generals.

The NCIS team met up with SG-1 in the mess hall later to say their good-byes, where cake was being served in honor of the President's visit and Sam's promotion.

Gibbs offered his hand to Generals O'Neill and Carter. "Thank you. I appreciate the trust and honesty that you gave my team."

"You're welcome," Jack responded.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Tony began. "But I really hope we don't run into each other too soon, at least on a case," he claimed, with an obvious look at Vala who was across the room.

"Sorry for making you the suspect twice, but…" Gibbs trailed off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You have to do what you have to do," Jack agreed.

"I believe that sentiment is all is well that ends well," Teal'c stated.

"Indeed," Jack agreed.

A chuckle from Sam escalated to full force laughter in seconds.

The NCIS Special Agents never did understand why the comments were so funny, but it didn't stop them from joining in the laughter.

The End


End file.
